Plan B
by Lalaith Quetzalli
Summary: -AU to Nightingale.- When Loki is forced to begin the move against Earth and SHIELD isn't prepared to handle what's coming, Nightingale decides to stand by his side and make sure the forces are ready. The heroes may see her just as one more victim, but she's more…much more. These two are no fools, there was always a Plan B.
1. The Preamble

So... this is the first of the Alternate universes. These are meant not just to be what-ifs, but also to show things I never got the chance to include in the original story. This one in particular follows the lead of: What if Nightingale had been with Loki when it all went down with the Avengers (beginning in Stuttgart). The fic isn't long, only three chapters, only enough to show just how different this verse is. Enjoy!

The first part in italica is the last part of the original Nightingale fic that fits into this universe.

* * *

Plan B

(Alternative Universe to _Nightingale_)

_By: Lalaith Quetzalli _

_When Loki is forced to begin the move against Earth and SHIELD isn't prepared to handle what's coming, Nightingale decides to stand by his side and make sure the forces are ready. The heroes may see her just as one more victim, but she's more…much more. These two are no fools, there was always a Plan B. _

**The Preamble**

There was always a secondary plan, and I was always going to stand by my match.

_It was one of our escape-weekends. With just the two of us in a location unknown to everyone else; the time we took for ourselves, free from any and all responsibility… And yet, that Saturday morning, I couldn't help but worry, particularly when I learnt that what we'd been preparing for during the last months was finally going to happen… _

"_So, it will all go down in the next few days." I returned to the main topic. _

"_Yes." Loki nodded. "I've done all I could, stalling Thanos so the humans would have time to prepare themselves for the battle, also making sure the right information gets to the right people. It will happen now, whether I want it or not. If I resist Thanos will either kill me or go ahead with the invasion on his own…we both know Midgard stands more of a chance if I lead the army." _

"_I do." I nodded. "Doesn't mean I have to like it though." _

"_That human, Fury, has a list of empowered people I'm sure he'll be calling on the moment it all begins." Loki reminded me. "And Odin will be sending Thor as well soon." _

"_Your brother is not going to take well seeing you again." _

"_No he won't. Particularly not with the part I have to play. And of course he won't be taking in consideration the favors I've done for him…" _

"_I will make sure he knows." I had made up my mind. _

"_My Nightingale…" _

"_No my Maverick. I've allowed this distance to remain between us this long because I knew it was for the best. You needed to infiltrate Thanos's army, and I needed to be in place in case plan B needed to be put in motion. Once the shit hits the fan, that will no longer apply. Also, we both know nobody is going to even consider the possibility that you're trying to do what's right. So, once the battle is over I will be finding you, I don't care if I have to break into S.H.I.E.L.D.s HQs to do it. Then I will deal with whoever I have to, to make sure everyone knows all the truth." _

"_You know if you do that, they'll never leave you alone." He said. "Right now you're just a young prodigy to them, a scholar…" _

"_A nerd, I know." I nodded. "I also know that when Fury realizes how much he's missed he'll be livid. I don't care. All I care about is you, being by your side, I will do whatever is necessary for that to happen." _

"_I do not know what I ever did to deserve you…" _

"_You took interest in an eleven-year old who knew nothing of the world, gave her the gift of music and her very first friend." I reminded him tenderly. "Then, at fourteen, you gave her a second chance at life, at a life she could have never dreamed of at first. Then, at nineteen, you decided you loved her enough to make her your wife…It is I who's not sure what I ever did to deserve you. And not because you're a god, or immortal, or a sorcerer…" _

"_I know. You love me for me." Loki interrupted me. "And that is the very reason why you deserve me. You are all I ever wanted yet never knew to ask for…" _

_I pressed my body against his, the same as our mouths, and that was enough to lose ourselves in each other all over again. _

**xXx**

That had been on Saturday, and while then I allowed myself to get lost in our passion, by the next morning I knew there was something he wasn't telling me. Still I chose not to insist until it was absolutely necessary, which was that evening (I wasn't about to ruin what was likely to be our last peaceful weekend in a while…no way I would allow myself to think 'ever').

"There's something you're not telling me." I went straight to the point.

He didn't even try to deny it, just sighed before sitting beside me, on my window-seat (we tended to spend most of our weekends in my mansion, as it was far more private than any hotel, only leaving to eat, dance or for the theatre at times).

"They are not ready…" He admitted with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"What…?" For a moment I wasn't sure what he meant.

Or more like, I really, really, didn't want him to mean what I thought he meant…

"The humans, S.H.I.E.L.D., the so-called heroes, and especially not Asgard." Loki elaborated with an annoyed huff. "I've stalled Thanos and his Chitauri for a full year! And they still aren't ready. The Agency is more worried about creating weapons, weapons they cannot possibly control…rather than finding a way to protect themselves. The so called heroes…just no, I swear if someone decides to ever get them together they are as likely to destroy the world themselves as they're to save it! And Asgard…Odin is far more worried about the lack of communications brought about by the destruction of the Bifrost, than the fact that a being that shouldn't exist is about to send an alien army to Midgard!"

"Is there any chance the Allfather doesn't know what's coming our way?" I asked.

"If he doesn't, it's because he doesn't want to." My love muttered indignantly. "But then again, he's never cared much about any world not his own. And Thor is so completely focused in his woman…the world could burn and he wouldn't notice as long as it didn't affect her."

Sad, but true. It still didn't help us any.

"What are we going to do?" I inquired, mentally preparing myself for anything.

"We?" He raised a brow.

"Of course we." He should have expected that. "I've told you time and time again I would stand by you, always." I took a deep breath. "Now, does this mean we'll be setting plan B into motion? Or something entirely different?"

"Plan B, with some minor adjustments."

"Then I better send my resignation already."

Yes, there had always been a plan b, even if I never expected we would actually be needing it. I even had my resignation letter ready to go. I just needed to put the right date on it and send it to both Phil and Jane. As part of my contract I didn't actually have to give them a reason besides it being something personal. It's not like I was a vital or critical member of the group…

Darcy phoned me half an hour later. They had just seen the e-mail and were quite surprised by my abrupt resignation.

"Look Darcy…and Jane, and Phil…Wow, did you all get together to make this call? Don't answer that…Anyway, yes, I know it's sudden…I said it in the letter, personal reasons…Yes Darcy, Luka has got to do with it…Luka is my boyfriend Jane. As good as my fiancé in fact… No gals, I've not been keeping him from you. You've known I was in a relationship all along! Darcy, you're the one who drives me to Santa Fe! … Well, we always knew we wanted our relationship to last, we just never talked about dates, or places, or things like that… Yes, we suddenly decided now was the right time … Hey! I take offense to that, I can be impulsive when I want! … No, this isn't really being impulsive. This is me deciding to live my own life, out of the shadow of S.H.I.E.L.D. … Nothing against you Phil. You always knew this day would come. I cannot spend the rest of my life working as a consultant for a secret government organization. That's not how it works… I accepted the job because I thought I could do good through it. Now…now it's time for a new chapter in my life."

There were a lot of murmurs going on through the phone, and I could only catch some of them. So much was being left unsaid, and I knew that when the shit hit the fan all three of them were going to take offense to my decisions, particularly the fact that I hadn't said a word of anything to any of them before things happened. But I couldn't tell them.

From the very day I'd first set foot in New Mexico I knew the day would come when I would have to give it all up. I knew it even before that, in fact. It was something I accepted as necessary. Even without the need for Plan B, the day would come when I would stand by my love's side before the rest of the world, and not everyone would understand… I just never expected to like them so much, to become friends with them: Darcy, Jane, Phil… I knew that when they set eyes on me again, standing by Loki's side, the disbelief, shock, probably even disappointment, horror, that I expected to see in their eyes, was going to hurt. And yet, regardless of how great friends they might be, and how much I might care for them, no one was more important than my match to me, no one…

In the end they told me I didn't have to return the next morning if I didn't want to. The girls just needed to do some reports on the most recent (failed) project; they didn't need me for that. In forty-eight hours Phil would pass notice of my resignation to his superiors and that would be that.

"Thank you guys." I told them through the phone. "All of you, you've been awesome friends, the best anyone could ever ask for… I could never forget you Darcy, none of you. You're all very dear to me… Yes, I'm sure we'll meet again someday. Who knows? Maybe it'll even be soon…" I just couldn't resist adding that. "Farewell…Take good care of yourselves… Love ya all…"

"Don't forget to invite us to the wedding!" Darcy yelled right before I hung up.

My love actually chuckled at that.

"Wonder if she'll still say that when she finds out just who I really am?" He commented, only half-sarcastically.

"Well, we'll be finding out in less than two weeks." I pointed out.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked me, very serious.

"Completely." I nodded, just as serious. "We're doing this Loki. I will be by your side, like I've been promising you since the very beginning…"

"It's one promise that's always made me happy."

"I know. No matter how hard things might get, trust me that I'll never regret it. There's no one, and nothing, more important to me than you."

"I believe you."

"Good. Now, we better get some rest. Something tells me things will be getting hectic soon."

"More than hectic. But if we don't deal with it now, they might be even worse."

"I know. Things will work out, you'll see. No matter what happens, everything will be alright."

"We will be together. Anything else is secondary to that."

I agreed completely with that. I truly believed that together we could achieve anything…

**xXx**

On Tuesday night, our lovemaking was bittersweet with the knowledge of what was coming. I half woke up early, before dawn, sensing him leave, but was too tired to stay up more than a few seconds, sending him my love. Then I spent all of Wednesday morning playing carelessly on the piano in the music room, trying to keep myself from pacing, or doing something else as I waited tense for my love to return. He finally did so late that afternoon. He looked even more stressed out than I had been all day, and had a lost look in his eyes.

"Love…?" I asked, very worried about him.

"I hate that fucking scepter, that frigging jewel!" Loki hissed as he pulled at his own hair. "The power it has…the power I wield with it…it's just…unnatural."

"Loki?" I called again.

I rarely called him by his actual name, but I knew we needed to be serious.

The scepter, which had been given to him by the Titan (or at least that's what we called him), it had a blue crystal that connected to the Tessract, a Mind Crystal. I knew the kind of powers he was talking about: taking control of someone. It was like brainwashing, but not exactly; it was skewing someone's perception so they would do certain things, follow orders, even if they were things they wouldn't have done normally. It made them think it was all their idea, and that they agreed to everything, they never even knew they were being pretty much controlled…

I also knew why he hated it, after how close he'd come to falling under the same kind of mind-control after his time with the Titan and his Chitauri in the abyss. It made me nervous to know how close the whole situation had gotten, how close I came to losing him…

"Oh my Nightingale…" He whispered embracing me.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one helping you?" I asked in turn, laying my head on his chest.

"You do my love, every day, just by being here." He assured me.

For a few minutes we just stood there, in each other's arms, in the middle of the music room, with the darkening garden behind a glass-wall at the back of the room.

"How did things go?" I asked eventually.

"Pretty well, all things considered." He admitted with a sigh. "I got the Dr. as we planned, and the Eye of Hawk. As well as a number of Agents I managed to get out before the whole base collapsed on their heads."

"What do you mean collapsed on their heads?" That wasn't in the plan.

"Turns out my use of the Tesseract to make my entrance caused some kind of catastrophic chain reaction that culminated with an explosion which blasted half a dozen sublevels of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQs, subsequently making everything on top of those, collapse. Taking the cube when I did staved off the reaction enough that a considerable number of agents managed to get out, and the actual destruction wasn't on the scale it could have been." He shook his head. "Still, it was painfully obvious the Agency was not ready, and this is just the beginning."

"It will be alright." I tried to reassure him. "Hawkeye will make the whole thing personal, hopefully enough to make Fury not only call the Avengers in, but to convince them all to work together…without making things worse."

"That will truly take a miracle, my Nightingale." He pointed out. "You know that as well as I."

"Yeah…" Yes, I knew. "Still, one can hope. I will be in close contact with Selvig to make sure he does things as he's supposed to."

"Don't tell me more." He interrupted. "Plausible deniability and all that. The less I know of what you'll be doing to ruin the Titan's plans, the better, in the end."

"I know. Have you made any plan on how we're supposed to contact S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Aside from the general idea we made originally, no. But I'm confident an opportunity will present itself eventually."

I nodded.

**xXx**

He was right, an opportunity did present itself. It came on Sunday evening, after Hawkeye told my love he needed a distraction and…an eyeball. The last part made me queasy, but I knew it couldn't be helped…or at least that's what I kept telling myself. I'm no fool, I've always known that Loki is no innocent, he's done some bad things, most of them justified, but still. And while I might hate the idea of him killing people, or being responsible for their deaths in any way; I promised to stand by his side, and that's what I'll do. Doesn't mean I won't try to help if the chance presents itself…

The time had come for me to step up to my promises. It was all part of our secondary plan, and as hard as I knew things were bound to get, I wasn't about to back down.

Loki procured a dress for me just for that night. It was sand colored, with semi-transparent short-sleeved, v-necked, knee-length asymmetric dress with what could be called an ice blue flower on my right hip. With that I wore a collection of thin silver bracelets on my left arm, along with my nightingale pendant and triquetra earrings, black strappy flats and a black and ice blue clutch-bag; the deamarkonian and the claddagh tattoo remained unseen. My hair was in loose curls over my shoulders and down my back, as my love liked it. My match, for his part was wearing a very elegant dark gray suit with a green scarf around his neck; the scepter, turned into a cane for the time being, was held loosely in his right arm, while I held onto his left.

After using the Shadow Paths to transport ourselves (well, Loki used them, I tagged along), we appeared in the shadows of a few trees close to a huge building where a party, a gala, seemed to be taking place; I understood the reason for the fancy clothes right then. It took just listening to some people passing talk to realize we were in Germany, though I still didn't know where in Germany exactly, I didn't ask either, it wasn't that important, not right then.

"Do we have to get to work right away?" I asked softly.

"No." He smiled at me.

I knew that the moment we stepped out of the shadows all bets were off. We were a distraction for what Hawkeye was doing, which meant we weren't being stealthy. Loki would be seen sooner or later, and everyone would notice I was on his arm. He directed a last look in my direction, as if silently asking me if I was ready, I just nodded and straightened to my full height (which, granted, wasn't much, but still).

We entered the building along with a number of other people, a quick spell from Loki stopping the security people at the doors from asking us for invitation, identifications, or anything of the like. They didn't even seem to notice that we didn't have any coats, unlike other guests.

The place was huge, and the luxurious and elegant decorations hinted to a lot of money; the event must have been organized by either a millionaire, or a politician, or maybe he or she was both. In any case, we had things to do there. I turned to ask my love who it was that we were looking for, when he smiled and extended a hand to me, theatrically bowing his head.

"Would the lady do me the honor?" He asked in a very Shakespearean tone.

"The lady would be delighted." I replied with a small giggle before placing my hand in his.

We began dancing right then. It was something I enjoyed a lot, dancing with him; we did it quite often, either when we went for dates to England, Italy, France, or some other part of Europe, or just in the mansion, with Loki placing a spell on the instruments from the music room so they would play the music.

We shared a number dances together before walking for the refreshments table; I had some water, since alcohol was just not my thing, he chose a martini for himself. After that I followed him to the second floor; from where we had a perfect view of everything going on. I watched him as he looked for his target (I hated seeing it like that, but I still knew what we were there for). He either couldn't find him or decided to leave it until later, and instead escorted me to a nearby balcony.

The view was wonderful. Germany in the middle of the night, while there was so much light on the ground that not many stars could be seen, the sky still looked quite pretty. Also, despite it being May already, the night was still a bit cool, which prompted Loki to embrace me tightly to his body in an attempt to preserve body heat.

And so there I was, in his arms, my back against his chest. I was so small when compared to him that I couldn't even reach his neck, but I was in a good enough position that, just twisting my head a little, I could place my ear right above his heart. The sound helped calm me and steel my nerves for what was coming. I could hear Loki sigh briefly before he kissed the top of my head, I just let out a breath, the time had come, and we both knew it.

Without saying a word he slackened his hold on me, allowing me to turn in his arms to face him.

"Let's do this." I stated, with more confidence than I actually felt.

"You know you don't have to do this…" He reminded me one last time. "I can still get you back to the mansion and then come do this one my own…"

"My mind's made up, love." I assured him with a smile. "I'm not backing down."

He nodded. He had given me a last chance, the time had come to get on the move.

"Let's do this." He agreed.

With that I took his arm again and we stepped into the building. It took no time to get to the stairs. We stepped down them slowly, surely, projecting all the image of a rich couple; then, as we reached the lower floor, I let go of his arm.

Loki was efficient. He knocked out a man close to him with a hit from his cane. The man would be quite sore when he woke up, but aside from that nothing had happened to him. On the other hand, the move called everyone else's attention. I wondered at the fact that they had all just seen one man hit another, straight on the face, for no reason at all, and yet instead of trying to get away, they were all just standing there, like fools.

My love's next actions, at least, got a more logical response: the people around screamed as they watched him take hold of the scientist who had been talking on a microphone earlier. I turned away as Loki raised a device meant to allow Hawkeye to get the eyeball he'd asked for.

Finally the people began fleeing the building. They didn't make it very far, as Loki followed right after them, shifting his gray suit into his Asgardian tunic, leather and armor. I followed just a couple of steps behind, just taking a second to send a slight pulse of magic to the unconscious scientist, I couldn't give him back his eye, but I could make sure he would not bleed out and die because of what had happened.

Loki shot a blast of energy from the cane turned staff to the police car approaching us. It hit the engine, making the vehicle flip and the skid upside down. I raised my own hand a second before the vehicle had hit the pavement upside down, focusing on making sure the people inside wouldn't be too hurt. I hoped it would be enough.

I stayed back as Loki called on a number of illusion-clones to herd all the people who had just fled the gala, and then the act was on:

"Kneel before me." He called authoritatively. "I said kneel!"

Eventually everyone did, terrified by the power already being displayed. Of course they did not know that most of what they were seeing were illusions; I was actually worried as I noticed they were flickering. That was never a good sign.

I didn't bother hiding from the cameras, as part of the distraction I was supposed to be seen. So I made sure to stand where people would be able to look at me, and with the fact that I was still on my feet they might even be able to realize whose side I was on; still, at the same time I made sure I wouldn't end up bothering, either my love, or anyone else (because we both knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would be sending someone sooner or later…)

"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?" My love was certainly laying it on thick as he strode in between the kneeling people. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel…"

I would have rolled my eyes at his theatrics, but if the cameras were filming me it might look strange. So I stood there, as impassive as I could possibly be.

And then…one thing my love and I hadn't planned on: an old man got on his feet. We had not contemplated something like that happening, though we probably should have. I worried briefly wondering what my match might decide to do, though I didn't let it show on my face, staying where I was, not moving at all.

"Not to men like you." The old man declared with a strength I had to admire.

"There are no men like me." Loki replied in a somewhat snobbish tone.

"There are always men like you." Was the man's reply.

I had an idea in that moment, of who that man might be, not personally, but as part of a whole. A Jew…and if he was a survivor from the camps, like I suspected, that might explain why he was refusing to kneel before Loki. That still didn't help our situation…

"Look to your elder, people." The God said coldly. "Let him be an example."

It took me all I had not to move a muscle even as I wondered if he was truly about to murder an innocent man. Granted, other people had already died, on Hawkeye's side, and on my match's orders, but I just wasn't sure if I could stand there and watch it without doing anything. And then, as he raised his staff I sensed something, something I was sure he'd sensed too.

Loki fired a beam from the staff, but instead of hitting the old man it hit Captain America's shield, as he had arrived from spirits-know-where and got there just in time. The attack was deflected by the shield and hit my love, throwing him to the ground among some of the still kneeling guests of the gala. I had to bite my lip not to scream and lock my muscles so as not to rush to his side immediately.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." Captain America stated in a hard voice.

"The soldier…" Loki called dramatically as he got on his feet. "The man out of time…"

"I'm not the one who's out of time." The Captain quipped.

A stylized black plane arrived from behind the Captain, obviously his backup, and we all heard a woman call something over the speaker, though I did not pay much attention.

The people finally had the good sense to begin running, right as the illusion-clones flickered off for good and Loki and Captain America began fighting. I followed the exchange with my eyes until, abruptly, my love knocked the super-soldier's vibranium shield to a side, the side where I was standing. It took me by surprise and I had to through myself to the ground on the opposite side from where the shield to be spinning, It still went right past the spot where I'd been standing just a moment before.

The small yelp I let out as I ended half on my knees, half laying on the ground made my love react. He attacked Captain America furiously, in a matter of seconds getting him on his knees, the base of his staff against the back of the super-soldier's head.

"Kneel!" Loki hissed.

"Not today." The man replied stubbornly.

Somehow the man managed to twist and deliver a spinning kick to my love, throwing him a few feet away. Then their fight resumed.

I kept an eye on the black vessel in the sky, I didn't think they would fire with the risk of hitting their own soldier, but I still worried. And then one more person joined the party…

"Iron-Man…" I couldn't help but whisper.

The song that began blaring out of the plane's speaker's caught me off-guard. It wasn't really my kind of music, and even with the dramatic entrances my match so loved, it seemed a bit much.

The Captain was on the ground, and Loki was about to attack him again, when they both stopped to see who it was that had just arrived. The distraction, however brief, cost my love (though, on hindsight, it most likely was intentional). Iron-Man fired some kind of attack from his palms, it hit Loki and sent him flying a few feet, landing on the steps, not too far from me.

It took all I had not to scream out my love's name as I saw him laying there, especially when he was so close to me.

"Make a move, Reindeer Games." Iron-Man challenged as he landed.

When he proceeded to prepare over a dozen guns in all sizes that seemed to be a part of his suit I couldn't help but huff quietly. That truly was overkill.

For all answer my love raised his hands, allowing his armor to vanish.

"Good move." Iron-Man backed down.

I decided that would have to be good enough, as I hurried back to my feet, stumbling a bit as a foot caught on the edge of my dress (I just hoped I didn't ruin it, the dress was gorgeous). Then I rushed to Loki's side.

"Hey!" The two 'heroes' cried out, in obvious shock at my presence there.

"What the hell is going on here?" Iron-Man demanded, drawing his guns again.

I could see the way my love's eyes hardened, he didn't like Iron-Man threatening. Being careful not to be noticed by the other two, I placed a hand on his arm, trying to send some reassurance. It was the way things were supposed to be.

"Ma'am…?" Captain America called.

With that I turned to look at them, raising my head in what I hope was confusion, letting them see my bright blue eyes…

**xXx**

The trip to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier was not pleasant, not at all. I had to listen to Iron Man insulting my love, everyone calling me a victim like I was some stupid girl who didn't know better, had to stay immobile as Thor appeared out of nowhere and then left the plane with my love, and then as the other two so-called heroes followed. They did not care about Loki, obviously, they just cared about the fact that they wouldn't be able to use him for their purposes if Thor helped him, or killed him…

I wanted so much to do something, anything, but we had a plan, and I had to stay put. Stay where I was, pretending to be in some kind of daze, while the two piloting the plane talked about my love and I as if I weren't there…

Eventually I managed to calm down my nerves some, when Iron Man and Captain America returned, Thor and Loki with them. They all seemed quite tense, and Iron Man's armor seemed to have been damaged. At least my love was unhurt.

"Who's the lady?" Thor asked, obviously only noticing me right then.

"We do not know yet." The Captain told him. "All we know is that she was with Loki in Germany, and appears to be under some kind of spell."

I held back my snort, hiding the rolling of my eyes by closing them, even as I heard my match snicker inside my mind. Granted, we had planned exactly for that, but did they have to be that… that… naïve?

*Idiotic is a better word.* Loki corrected in our heads.

*I thought we were trying not to give out anything.* I murmured, my voice a whisper even inside our own bonds.

*I am bored.* My lover drawled. *And we really aren't giving out anything. Thor is quite stupid, especially when it comes to magic. He thinks they're little more than parlor tricks. Even though he himself has it…he does not realize it. He's wasting so much potential…*

*He's an idiot.* I agreed. *Does he know who I am?*

*I have mentioned you, my Nightingale, before him, Sif and even the Warriors Three.* Loki nodded. *But considering how little any of them actually listen of what I've got to say, I doubt very much they would be able to make the connection, even if you were to use that name.*

*It might make for an interesting mind-game, don't you think?* I suggested.

That made Loki smirk outwardly, something that immediately put everyone in the plane (except me) on guard. Really, with my love bored, it was better if I found something for him to entertain himself with, less dangerous in the long run. And he so loved mind games…

**xXx**

Two guards escorted me down from the plane and into the helicarrier. Unlike my match I wasn't in chains, though the guards still kept a close eye on me. Still preferable to the heavy chains and eight armed guards leading my love. We walked through several halls, I could see the people looking at Loki with a mix of fear and hatred, and at me with confusion. I didn't say a word, just kept my blue eyes fixed straight ahead of me, moving at a slightly slower pace than usual; it made me seem weaker than my size already did, and it allowed Loki the time to build on more of his act. And no one even realized it…

After they lead Loki to his new accommodations the guards escorted me to the medical bay. Where they stood guard while the resident doctor examined me. Of course they didn't find anything special. It's not like they would be able to sense Loki's magic on me, or lack thereof. We had been too careful for that.

After the exams were finished the same guards lead me to the bridge, where I could hear Fury, his second: Agent Hill, as well as Phil and the ones who were to become the Avengers.

"…And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury was saying right then.

"Monkeys?" Thor asked, obviously confused. "I do not understand…"

"I do!" The captain exclaimed right then. "I…I understood that reference."

I would have rolled my eyes right then, if it weren't for the fact that the guards chose that very moment to open the door I was standing behind and guide me inside (or rather, they practically pushed me in, but still).

"Director, we brought her." One of the guards called to Fury.

"The exams do not reveal anything sir." The other added. "Whatever the reason was for her to be there, we do not know it."

"Who…?" Someone began.

"Silbhé?!" I recognized Phil's voice as he exclaimed my name.

"Coulson?" Everyone turned to him instantly.

"Do you know who she is?" The redhead who had been on the plane seemed particularly interested in my identity.

I wanted so much to move and talk right then, reassure my friend that I was alright…but that would mean going against the plan, so I stayed impassive.

"Professor Silbhé Salani." Phil introduced.

"Professor?" Stark inquired. "She looks a bit young for that."

"She doesn't seem to be more than a child." Rogers added quietly.

"She's twenty, finished her studies at nineteen." Phil elaborated. "She has Masteries in European History, Myths and Folklore and Literature, as well as being certified in ten languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Gaelic, Norse and Latin."

Stark let out a low whistle at the list.

"She's a genius." Dr. Banner stated.

"She was with Loki." Fury pointed out, looking at his trusted man. "Why would he be interested in her? What could she have that he may have wanted?"

"She's our Norse expert sir, or at least she was." Phil pointed out. "Worked from last September to last week as part of Ja…Dr. Foster's team. She also led lectures on what we might find outside our planet, according to what Thor told Dr. Foster during his visit last Spring." He sighed. "She sent us her resignation letter last Sunday."

"When did you last speak to her?" Hill inquired.

"On Sunday." Phil nodded. "After we received her resignation letter. Dar…Miss Lewis and Dr. Foster were concerned about her reasons for wanting to leave, since she didn't cite anything beyond it being personal. On the phone she mentioned her boyfriend, Luka, and implied that they would be marrying in the close future. Claimed she never planned on staying with S.H.I.E.L.D. forever." He sighed. "Really sir, her contract allowed for her to leave without much warning. She was just a consultant."

"She had something Loki wanted." Fury insisted. "And I want to know what."

Phil went to stand in front of me, taking hold of my chin to raise my head so my eyes would meet his, he gasped and staggered as he truly looked at me.

"What?" Everyone asked instantly.

"Her eyes are blue." Phil answered quietly.

"What about that?" The redhead, Natasha Romanoff wanted to know.

"We noticed they were glowing strangely back on Germany, but still…" Stark shrugged.

"Silbhé's eyes aren't blue." Phil explained with a shake of his head. "They are hazel." He brought the picture from my file up on the nearest screen to prove it. "Whatever has happened to her, the change in her eye color may be connected."

"You know, it's the same shade of blue as the jewel in Loki's scepter." Banner commented.

"It's the same shade Barton's eyes were when he turned." Hill added in a low tone.

"So Loki's magic is connected to it somehow." Fury nodded. "Anything we can do to change it?"

"I do not know sir." Phil replied, before turning back to me. "Silbhé…? Professor Salani, can you hear me? Can you understand me?"

I cocked my head to the side, slowly blinking once, twice, three times, making it seem as if I were pushing against something.

"Silbhé…" Phil called again.

"Hey Phil…" I called, feigning effort and tiredness. "What's going on?"

"Do you know where you are?" He asked me.

I opened my mouth a couple of times, pretending I didn't know what to say, or simply couldn't speak, before finally saying something.

"Tanzen…" I whispered in apparent tiredness, purposefully shifting to German. "Luka…Wir gingen tanzen…"

"What is she saying?" Rogers asked, confused.

"Dancing." Stark enlisted before anyone else could. "Luka, I'm presuming her boyfriend, then she said, 'We went dancing'. That was it."

"What…?" Everyone seemed thoroughly surprised.

"She was speaking German." Stark clarified.

"And you know German…" Hill stated the obvious.

"I know over a dozen languages." The millionaire stated proudly. "I've said before, and I'll say it again. I am a genius. Languages are one of the few things that truly give me a challenge, and I enjoy learning new ones. The lady knows some I do not, like Gaelic and Norse, I've never needed them before so…I still might have to see into that…then again, I also know a number of languages she does not: like Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Arabic…"

"How come I did not know any of that?" The redhead inquired. "I worked for you for a year…"

"Wouldn't you like to know that…Natashalie…?" Stark's sarcasm was quite obvious.

As entertaining as the argument was, I still needed to finish my part of the plan before they grew distracted, or I made them suspect me by 'fighting off Loki's influence' for too long.

"Namhaid…Ionradh…Chitauri…" I called in Irish in what I hope sounded like an urgent voice, before switching to Spanish. "Verdadero líder…" One last time, to Norse. "Titan…"

With that I looked far enough up to make it seem like my eyes were rolling to the back of my head, then closed them and dropped to the floor, appearing to faint. I never actually hit the floor, Phil caught me, yet I didn't react to his touch, not in the slightest, keeping my body completely limp and my breathing slow and easy, so no one had any reason not to believe I'd fainted.

"Was she fighting Loki's control?" I heard someone ask, though I wasn't sure who.

"She mentioned the Chitauri, she knows about the chitauri!" Thor's voice I did recognize.

"Someone tell me what exactly she was saying!" Fury demanded hotly.

"The first was Irish." The redhead stated. "I don't know much, but I believe she said something about an enemy and an attack, or invasion, something along those lines…"

"It makes sense if she somehow knows about the Chitauri." Hill added.

"But how does she even know about the Chitauri?" Rogers wanted to know.

"Do we know how long she's been with Loki?" Banner asked next. "I mean, if the last time anyone heard from her was a week ago…"

"He might have taken her at any point from there to today." Stark finished from him, following the doctor's line of thought. "She might have heard or seen something." After a moment of silence he added. "The second language she used was Spanish. The words translate, literally, to 'True leader'. A true leader of the chitauri?"

"You mean Loki isn't the top-guy?" Rogers seemed disbelieving.

"Someone is giving my brother an army, we knew that already, it's the same individual who wants the Tesseract." Thor pointed out. "Loki wouldn't say who that was."

"She knows." More than one person said at the same time.

Chaos was absolute, with everyone making questions, demanding answers, all at the same time. At some point I could sense at least one person coming too close, it made my instincts scream at me to run; I focused all my will on quenching that instinct and staying limp on Phil's arms.

"That's enough!" Phil ordered right then. "Stand back. You won't be getting any answers with her unconscious right now!"

Silence was the answer, though I could sense them backing down. Then my body was jostled as Phil got on his feet, holding me in his arms bridal style.

"With your permission director I will take her to one of the bedrooms." I heard Phil say. "I will talk to her once she wakes up, hopefully she'll be able to tell us more."

"Make sure there are guards outside that door." Fury ordered.

"I hope they will stop anyone getting in as well as they will stop her from getting out." Phil commented in a half-sarcastic tone.

I could have smiled right then. Phil knew something was very wrong with me, even if he saw me mostly as a victim right then, and still he was doing his best to look after me.

I gradually relaxed into his arms as he moved away from the bridge; falling asleep before I was actually placed on a bed.

**xXx**

The next morning I woke up to find myself in a cot in a small room somewhere in the helicarrier. I could sense my match a considerable distance away, probably on the other side of the vessel we were on. He sent a slight pulse through our bond to show he knew I was awake.

I didn't say a word and was very careful not to look around too much, as I suspected there must be at least one camera somewhere in the room, filming me. My suspicions were confirmed for the most part when, shortly after I woke, a young Agent entered the room carrying a tray with some breakfast: lemon tea with honey and toast. I knew Phil must have had a hand in it, since there was no coffee, and he knew how much I disliked it.

The Agent greeted me with a mix of respect, curiosity and another emotion I couldn't quite make out. I had no way of knowing how much information about me was public around the helicarrier. Still, in the end it didn't matter, I didn't say a word, I didn't react to anything anyone said: not the Agent who brought me breakfast; not the guards standing outside the door, who would stare at me through the thick window-pane; not the Agent who took me a change of clothes (plain dark gray cargo pants, a white sleeveless top and a jacket the same color of the pants; they belonged to someone considerably taller than me, but I ignored that fact, pretending not to notice at all). It was part of the plan we had made. I'd never tried my hand at acting, and wasn't sure how good I might be, so we had decided not to pretend that I was completely brainwashed and supporting his supposed plan of world domination. Instead I was to act as if I needed him (which I did, in a sense, but that was beside the point), as if I were some sort of zombie without him; pretending to fight against the control every so often to give small clues to the others. For that last part I'd chosen Phil, as I trusted him and believed he would take the clues seriously.

I had no idea what time it was supposed to be. I could see through the rather small window that there was light outside, and the sky was blue; but since I had no idea where exactly in the world we were flying…still, it did not matter much, the next important part of the plan would not take place until Loki's rescue mission arrived…

I was getting very bored when, suddenly, I felt Loki pulling slightly at our bond. Knowing he wanted to communicate with me I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. Instead my mind was filled with images. At first it was a rush, the confirmation that even if my love was 'trapped' in that steel and glass cage, he was still keeping an eye on everything. Eventually he settled on one image, a conversation going on in that very moment, in a corner of the main bridge.

Phil guided Thor to a nearby screen, bringing up Jane's file.

"As soon as Loki took the doctor we moved Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis." Phil reassured the blonde Asgardian. "We've got an excellent observatory in Tromsø. Jane was asked to consult there very suddenly on Wednesday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. They'll be safe." He sighed. "We would have extended the same courtesy to Silbhé, but she was no longer with us when it happened. Makes me wonder, if she had been, would we have been able to protect her…"

I wanted so much to comfort Phil, it's not like what was going on with me was his fault in any way…it was my choice. I hoped I would get the chance to explain things to him when it was all over…that is, if he even wanted to listen to me when it was all over.

"I do not know the Lady Silbhé." Thor stated thoughtfully, as he looked at the screen. "But if she's friends with Jane and Darcy I'm sure she must be a wonderful woman. I cannot imagine what Loki was thinking when he took her… Do you think he might have hurt the man courting her? I do not remember his name, but he was mentioned yesterday?"

"I honestly do not know." Phil admitted. "I haven't the slightest idea what the man looks like even! The only one who's ever met him is Darcy, and even that only happened last week, when she drove Silbhé to meet him for their weekend getaway…that was two days before we received her resignation letter…"

"You think it's possible Loki might have gotten to her already by that point?" The Asgardian seemed to notice the same detail the Agent already had.

"Don't know." Phil sighed. "Considering the big entrance I've been told Loki made in S.H.I.E.L.D. HQs on Wednesday I would say no…but the things he's done in the last few days, the people he's taken…it all seems too well planned for a spur of the moment; and he could only have planned that if he knew the people."

Thor nodded, seemingly considering Phil's words.

"Thank you for looking after Jane and Darcy, they are both dear to me, if in very different ways." Thor stated. "It's no accident, Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. Erik is a good man."

I knew very little of Erik, having barely known him, but for what Jane and Darcy said of him, he was, a very good man. I hoped what we were doing to him wouldn't end up ruining his life.

"He talks about you a lot." The Agent commented. "You changed his life. You changed everything around here."

"They were better as they were." The Asgardian said with a sigh. "We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we…we come here battling like Bildschneip."

"Like what?" Phil was obviously confused.

"Bildschneip." Thor repeated, seeing the confusion. "You know, huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?"

I heard Phil's denial even as Loki pushed the image of one such creature at me. It was truly awful, like a monster from the dark version of fairytales, or one of those ancient Greek myths…

"Huh! Well they are repulsive, and they trample everything in their path." The blonde explained the metaphor before walking to the huge window. "When I first came to earth, Loki's rage followed me here and your people paid the price. And now again…" He shook his head. "In my youth I courted war…"

"War hasn't started yet." Fury interrupted, approaching them. "You think you can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?"

"I do not know." The Thunder God admitted. "Loki's mind is far afield, it's not just power he craves, it's vengeance upon me. There's no pain that would price his need from him."

"A lot of guys think that, until the pain starts." Fury pointed out calmly…too calmly.

I couldn't help it, even with my eyes closed and my mind mostly separate from my body, I snarled. If anyone so much as thought about laying a finger on my love…then all bets were off.

"What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked, suspicious.

"I'm asking, what are you prepared to do?" The Director asked in turn.

"Loki is a prisoner." The Asgardian reminded him.

"Then why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat that wants to be here?" Fury demanded, obviously annoyed by the whole thing.

He was right, at that, but we weren't about to let him know that, or why exactly that was.

The scene cut off around that point, Loki sending me a message that he would let me know if something else happened that I needed to be made aware of. I was still taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself after Fury's words, before I did something that gave me away, when I heard the electronic door to my room open.

"Silbhé…?" I heard Phil's voice calling.

I blinked a few times, pretending just to be waking up as I turned my head in the direction of his voice. He was standing there, dinner on his hands, and my clutch bag was on the tray as well.

"Thought you might be hungry." He explained. "Mind if I eat with you?"

I cocked my head sideways, not actually answering, though I did scoot back on the bed, sitting against the headboard to give him space to sit and place the tray.

"I brought your things back to you." He told me as he settled down. "I will admit that both Fury and Hill checked through your purse. They were trying to find out how you ended up with Loki in Stuttgart last night. Particularly since we couldn't find your name in any flight, train, ship, or any similar transportation records. If you could just tell me, well…What's the last thing you remember exactly?"

"Luka…dancing…" I answered, this time in English.

Quietly, I began picking at my dinner.

For a few minutes we just ate. Phil seemed to be quite at peace with me there, unlike everyone else I'd seen throughout the day. It didn't seem like he was expecting me to attack him at any time…which was good. It meant he still trusted me, and that was very important for the plan to work. I just hoped the trust would last long enough…

"The last word you said last night." He spoke as we were finishing dinner. "Could you say it again? We've been working on the things you said in any way we can but we're a bit unsure of what exactly you were saying there at the end, especially the last word, because of how you kept switching languages."

"Titan…" I repeated, practically spitting the word.

"Titan?" Phil repeated questioningly.

I nodded, hoping it would help.

"Is this the person who's behind the chitauri who wish to invade Earth?" Phil asked. "The one who's ordering Loki?"

I could hear the implications of his words. He still didn't realize that Loki wasn't really on the side of the chitauri; but since for the time being such realizations could bring about my love's death, I didn't exactly regret the misunderstanding. It was also the reason why I wouldn't say the exact name of the one behind the chitauri, though both Loki and I knew it. There was a lot about him, his power, we did not know. What if my saying his name called his attention to me? What if he began spying on me, on us, and discovered the truth about my match's loyalties? Or worse, found a way to manipulate him into actually doing evil? That couldn't be allowed. So word games had to be played…

"The Titan." I repeated, then tried to give them more clues, the only way I knew how. "He's courting death…wants destruction…absolute destruction…he's mad…the mad Titan…Lord of the Endless Abyss…"

I began babbling under my breath after that, switching languages every so often, making it seem like I was either too stressed out by the whole situation, or that a spell was stopping me from saying more. Whichever Phil believed to be the reason, it was enough for him to place a hand on my arm, stopping me.

"That's alright." He assured me. "We'll find the way to make this right. I promise you Silbhé."

I sighed quietly, turning my attention to my purse.

Conscious of the eyes on me I opened it, quickly making sure everything that should be was in there. The money was, as well as my ID Cards, a debit card, passport and visa; there was also a kerchief, a small mirror and a lipgloss. I noticed two particular objects were missing but made no mention of it, choosing instead to focus on the last item in the bag, which I brought out. It was a semi-translucent white silk bag, inside which was my flute.

"You know, that's a very beautiful instrument." Phil commented right then. "I researched it on the internet. A dizi flute, Chinese, transversal. They're almost always made of bamboo, jade ones tend to be collectible items; either museum pieces or custom made…"

"Gift from Luka…" I answered simply.

I was quite sure that, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources he must have known that already; as he should have known the piece was custom made. Still, I said it.

"Would you play for me?" He asked.

I twisted my head slightly as I thought about that. I rarely ever played for anyone who wasn't my love or myself. And yet…playing relaxed me, relaxed us both, and I knew he would be able to listen, with how he was keeping track of everything going on. So in the end I didn't say a word, just brought the flute to my lips, and began playing.

I didn't try to recreate any particular melody, just playing the notes guided by my instinct, and my feelings, a rhythm that soothed me.

Phil stayed for a while, just listening to me play, until eventually his earpiece rang, someone was looking for him, most likely Fury.

"I have to go." He told me as he took the tray, placing my bag on the bed by my feet. "I will see you tomorrow, will try to get you better clothes."

I just nodded slightly, before resuming my playing, not even turning to watch him leave the room. No, I was finally relaxed, I wasn't giving up my music. There was also the fact that I could sense my match's contentment through our bond. He was, indeed, listening to my music, and he liked it. So we were both at peace in that moment.

**xXx**

The next morning things went more or less the same. Except for when a change of clothes was delivered and I was guided by Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, herself (the redhead to-be-Avenger whom I'd finally been able to connect to the things Hawkeye said).

"Phil got you this." She said, throwing a small bag in my direction.

It contained a change of clothes, of my own clothes, which had been in the house I shared with Darcy and Jane. I imagined the gals must have started packing my things after it was suggested that I wouldn't be going back. I did not know, I was so busy working on the details for 'plan b' that I never stopped to think about my things back at the house in New Mexico.

The ensemble consisted of a white top with a print of navy lines that went in different directions, steel gray slacks with a silver belt, a short, long sleeved jacket a shade darker than the lines in the top and calf-high synthetic boots of the same color. As well as the out clothes there was a change of underwear and my toiletry bag.

Barely managing to hide my delight at being able to shower and get dressed in clean clothes that were definitely my own, I followed Romanoff to the bathroom. I didn't comment on her standing outside the shower stall where she'd guided me (the bathrooms were obviously shared by all the people on board, or at least all the women). I just stepped into the stall and closed the door behind me before getting undressed.

I took my time washing my hair and then my body, as I hadn't been able to do so the previous day, only changing the gala dress for the borrowed clothes. After a while I stepped out of the stall wearing everything except the boots and jacket (which I'd left in the bedroom) and trying my best to towel-dry my hair.

Back in the bedroom I was zipping up the boots, when the redhead finally spoke for the first time:

"So you know Phil…" She called in what probably was a cheerful tone for her.

I finished zipping my boots with deliberate slowness, arranging the pants legs over them before I straightened up, looking at her silently.

"It's obvious Phil likes you." She went on. "Considers you a friend, and trust me, he doesn't have many. He also believes that even though we found you with that psycho Loki, you are not bad. He believes you can help us. That you can give us information…I'm not so sure, but then again, I wasn't the one found in Loki's company…"

I remained silent. I wasn't stupid, after knowing the redhead was the Black Widow I knew the kind of woman she was: master assassin, spy and interrogator. I was quite sure she was trying to interrogate me in some less-than-obvious way, but how much information would she be able to get when I didn't say a word?

"I wonder, does Loki even care about you…" She went on. "He hasn't asked about you, not even once. Even when we were bringing the two of you he never said a word to you…are you under his spell, or just another foolish girl with no idea what the world is truly about? Another stupid little girl thinking with her heart…"

So that's how it was going to be, she was going to try to use Loki, and my feelings for him, against me…My fury began rising despite myself, and my understanding of what she was doing. Who did she think she was to call me foolish, or stupid? And what did she know of the heart? She was a spy, and an assassin, she didn't have a heart! Ok, that was a bit excessive, and even I knew it, didn't change the fact that I was really angry at her in that moment.

For a second I truly wanted to attack her, wanted to hurt her in any way I could: physically, mentally, emotionally, magically…then I felt Loki's comforting presence all around me, it was as if he were holding me in his arms…and I calmed down. Enough to be fully conscious of my actions yet again.

I got on my feet, walking slowly but purposefully to the redhead, I didn't stop until I was so close our bodies were almost touching. I could see the tension in her body, like an instinct of hers was pushing for her to step back, but her pride didn't allow her to. I didn't say a word, just fixed my eyes on hers. I knew how strange my eyes looked in that moment, that bright unworldly blue. I just stared at her for a long while, before eventually spinning around and walking to the other side of the room. I picked my flute up from the bedside table and began playing it softly, all the while keeping my eyes on the small window. I could watch through the reflection when she silently left the room.

*Are you okay my Nightingale?* I heard Loki's voice in my mind.

*Fine my Maverick.* I assured him. *I just let the Black Widow get under my skin.*

*You did well, holding back, not speaking.* He assured me. *I'm sure she'll be coming to me soon. Then I'll be able to have some fun for the both of us…*

*Be careful.* I said with a mental eye-roll. *Remember that the more you antagonize her, all of them, the harder it'll be to convince them that you're one of the good guys.*

*But I'm not one of the good guys.* I could hear his mental chuckles. *I'm just not currently against them, that's all.*

*Oh yeah, spirits forbid you be seen as a good guy…*

*Yep. They're all so boring…*

I couldn't help the off note that came from my flute as I did my best to hold back the laughter. Loki had managed what he wanted, getting me on a good mood once again, I was ready for whatever (or whoever) they sent next.

I was completely alone for the rest of the day. At some point an agent brought me lunch, something simple and generic, but he left immediately. I ate before going to sit on my bed, meditating some to stay calm. I wasn't sure how long it would be yet until the controlled agents arrived to get Loki, but I knew once that moment came everything else would happen fast, so I had to be on top shape for that.

Meditating, while it helps a person relax and rest, it also helps them review their own memories. And my most recent memories were no good. When the song came it wasn't exactly planned, but I just couldn't help myself. Still on the bed, with my eyes closed and my legs crossed I began humming and swaying slightly, and then I began singing:

"Where are the heroes

In my time of need?

Is my crying not loud enough

Or have they gone all numb…?

They just stand and stare

Out of the rain

Thinking but not acting

That they're not to blame…"

"Falling and crawling

A fight to stand up

Memory still haunts me

In the dead of night…

Over and over

I felt so small

But one day I'll be stronger

And you better watch out…"

Really, Iron Man, Captain America, even the Black Widow, they might be seen as heroes by the people in general; but I would never support them over my match. They called themselves heroes, like that made them superior to everyone else, like that gave them the right to stare and judge…they were nothing special! They were people, like everyone else. If anything, being heroes should mean being held to a higher standard, after all, they were considered as examples to follow. They had responsibilities, as they had rights. And as soon as I got the chance I would make sure to remind them of that. Maybe my song would help that too!

"I will overcome,

Your violence, their silence

Although,

It can't be undone

I will overcome,

Knowing that I'm not the only one

I will overcome,

It's the only way to carry on…"

One day I would overcome…well that day had come. I was in that helicarrier, being seen by some as a victim and others as a criminal. I had been approached by Fury's most trusted man (His one good eye, Loki told me the Director called him sometimes) and the best interrogator S.H.I.E.L.D. had. And I knew things would only get harder. Still, I wasn't about to give up, no matter what. I was standing up for my match to the end of time. And maybe, just maybe, one day I would get the so-called heroes to see how much of a hero he himself was.

"Where are the saviors

Afraid of the toll?

Sorry do my nine inch nails

Slash your soul?

Such heroes

Throwing stones

Straight at the one

Who is standing alone…"

"Twisting and turning

It's always the same

Truth is never honest

When you're to blame…

Pushing and pulling

Never give in

One day I wish

You'll see you're not so beautiful within…"

One day they would see, one day I would make sure they could see. I truly believed that. Beyond Iron Man's snarkiness, Captain America's self-righteousness, Thor's preconceived notions and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tags; one day they would see what Loki was truly made of, and with that, they would also see all the mistakes they themselves had made, and kept making. No one is perfect, not humans, not even heroes (I know I'm not perfect either), I would make them see that, I would make them understand…if it was the last thing I did in my life…

"I will overcome,

Their violence, your silence

Although,

It can't be undone

I will overcome,

Knowing that I'm not the only one

I will overcome,

It's the only way to carry on…

Run and run…

Run and run…"

I had been hiding for so long…in one way or another. On Loki's side, no one knew I existed, on my side, even the few who knew I was in a relationship hadn't the slightest idea just who he was. I understood the necessity of such secrecy, it was why I'd never complained about it, but still, I couldn't help but wish it would end; that we both would finally stop hiding, finally stop running. Let the world find out that I love Loki, let them find out that he has someone willing to stand by him no matter what; and if the world doesn't like it…I do not care, because I will keep standing by him no matter what anyone says. I will always be with him…

"I will overcome,

Their violence, your silence

Although,

It can't be undone

I will overcome,

Knowing that I'm not the only one

I will overcome,

It's the only way to carry on…

I will overcome…"

I would overcome anything…everything…no matter what, I wouldn't let anyone stop me, not when it came to being there for my match, because my love for him was too great to let anything in this world, in any world, stop it, stop me…


	2. The Battle

So, I decided to give you everything in one go rather than risk splitting this chapter in two parts and risking someone trying to kill me due to the cliff-hanger (no matter where I chose to split it, there would have been one, a bad one, you'll see). So here it is, the whole battle.

I hope you will like this alternate version of the invasion of NY, I certainly enjoyed writing it.

* * *

**The Battle**

When the time came to fight, nothing would hold me back, I would stand by my love…

I'm not quite sure when I fell asleep, or when I woke up again. I just know the sky wasn't fully dark the first time, and it certainly was the second. The greatest shock of all was when I noticed someone standing on the other side of the room, and it wasn't Phil.

*What the hell is he doing in my room?!* I couldn't help but scream mentally.

*I have no idea my Nightingale.* Loki answered. *He's been standing there for a few minutes now. He hasn't done anything, which is why I haven't either.*

*You mean he's just been standing there, watching me sleep?* I inquired.

*Yes, harmless enough.* My love agreed.

*It's creepy.* I corrected, with a mental roll of my eyes.

*You do know this isn't going to be like with the Black Widow, right?* He asked me.

We both knew there was only one reason for the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be there.

*I know.* I nodded mentally. *If necessary I will give him something to think about.*

Loki smirked, he knew exactly what I was talking about: another word-game. Hey! With him as my husband, I had to learn something.

I took a deep breath then, blinking a few times before keeping my eyes open. With my eyes fixed on the one-eyed director of the most secret agency in the world I stretched a bit before finally sitting up in bed, pulling my jacket from where I'd laid it on the foot of my bed, as I felt a bit bare under his gaze.

"Professor Salani…" The man called me as he began approaching my bed. "The young genius, expert in myth, history and literature. How convenient that we found you, shortly after you graduated, exactly when we needed someone with your expertise."

I couldn't stop my brow from furrowing, did they think it was planned? Granted, Loki might be, at least in part, the reason why I studied such majors; and he was also connected to the reason why S.H.I.E.L.D. needed someone of my credentials…but still! It's not like we planned anything. What happened in New Mexico was product of the circumstances. Loki never planned for Odin to exile Thor to Midgard, or to find himself as King, or any of the other messes that followed.

"Did you know you're a medical miracle yourself?" The man went on, switching topics as if it were nothing at all. "Cancer, leukemia, terminal phase at age fourteen…and yet, somehow, you're still here. Truly a miracle…maybe something the gods granted you?"

So now he'd gotten it into his head that I was working for Loki? Or with him, whatever? Granted, that version had more truth in it than the one where I was victim; and yet, no version would be completely truthful until they stopped classifying Loki as a villain.

"You are with Loki, are you not?" He finally asked outright.

It was quite obvious the man didn't like his questions to remain unanswered; but since I wasn't about to make things easy for him at all, I didn't actually give him the answer he was looking for.

"You make the questions, believing to already know the answers; yet what truthful answer can there possibly be, when the question itself is erroneous?" I inquired in a smooth voice.

"What?" He obviously wasn't expecting something like that.

"You see things in black and white, Director." I pointed out. "But the truth is that the world is not black and white, it's never been. And I'm not talking about shades of gray either, not about levels of right and wrong; I'm talking about colors, about things that are neither good nor bad, maybe both, maybe none; about things that go beyond right and wrong…"

"I did not come here for word games!" He practically hissed at me. "I came for answers!"

"What answers can I give when you aren't asking the right questions?" I asked in turn.

"And what are the right questions then?" He demanded.

"Ah ah, it doesn't work like that Director Fury." I shook my head, an impish expression in my face. "That's an answer you need to find for yourself. All I can tell you is, when you find the right question, the answer will be quite obvious."

Fury was, quite obviously, furious at me (pun totally intended). I was sure if he'd been any less disciplined he might have even hit me; I wasn't sure he wouldn't try something before the interrogation was over (because if that wasn't an interrogation I did not know what it was).

"Listen to me very carefully Professor." He said in the coldest voice I'd ever heard, standing right beside me, his face a bit too close to mine to be comfortable. "There is an army that's going to attack Earth at any moment, and it's being aided by the man that you, for some reason I cannot comprehend, seem to be intent on protecting. I do not know why you're doing it, but I do know it's not as simple as you being under some kind of spell. Loki needs you for some reason, what is it? Why you?"

"That's a question to which you already know the answer Director." I told him calmly,

I was thoroughly ignoring the instinct screaming to me he was dangerous, as I remained sitting on that cot, watching him; I knew that already.

"It's a well known fact that for most questions, the simplest answer is usually the correct one." I pointed out. "However, when you are not working with all the variables, the equation might come out a bit funky. Just ask Stark! Well, maybe he'll come to you first, when he manages to clear up his own variables." I sighed. "I've always believed life to be like a book, not the short easy ones, the children tales. But the old ones, the ones that existed before the fairytales we know nowadays, where there were still princesses to rescue, dragons to slay, but the heroes weren't always in the right, and things were never as simple as they appeared."

I was mixing my metaphors so much, if I kept going I was going to start confusing myself and not just Fury. Still, I could not deny it was fun! And by the laughter I got from my love in our bond I knew he agreed.

"First you tell me it's the simple answer, then you talk about things not being as simple as they appear." Fury hissed again. "Make up your mind woman."

"Oh, the answer may be simple, compared with the other options, but as it is a part of life…when is life ever easy?" I asked in return.

I knew what I was going to do next was dangerous, but I couldn't help it, not when I had the chance to say the very thing I'd been wanting to say since everything began.

"Your problem is that you're too close to the situation Director." I told him, this time in a completely serious voice. "You're fixed in a set of beliefs: like Loki being the evil guy; Iron Man, Captain America and the others being the good guys…S.H.I.E.L.D. being the good guys… You know, deep down, that things aren't that simple. People never really fit into neat little categories like that, if they did they wouldn't be people, they would be machines. So step back and truly look at the situation. You will see there are things that don't fit and…hopefully, what you will make out of it all will be the truth…the kind of truth capable of protecting this world, and of saving the people that truly need to be saved."

I could see I was making him truly stop and think, if only to try and make out what exactly I was trying to say; however, it would only work if things stopped there. So I laid back down, hoping he would think me either asleep or just 'lost' again, and wouldn't ask any more questions.

I was hoping the ruse would work when I heard a ringing somewhere on his person; then a voice came from the ear-bud he'd taken out at some point. The Black Widow was the one speaking, and she was loud enough I got to hear what she said:

"Salani is just a distraction." She said. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well."

I opened one eye. Really? That's what they'd come to think? I closed both eyes again, focusing on following the bond to my love, reaching him in time to hear the Widow's last words to him before she left the room he was in:

"Thank you for your cooperation!"

Loki snorted mentally.

*Does she really think you just revealed your plan to her?* I asked, disbelief coloring my voice.

*She believes what she wishes to believe.* Loki pointed out. *It's in the nature of all human beings…of all living creatures, I believe.*

*True.* I agreed. *Besides, it's not like they'll ever realize what you're really trying to do here. That we're doing it for them.*

*I don't know, after the speech you gave the Director…he just might be able to figure it out.* Loki said, only half-jesting.

*Please, even I know what I said was too convoluted for anyone to get anything truly useful out of it.* I rolled my eyes. *It would mean making an effort to make out what I really meant. What, among all I said, is truly important.*

*He will realize the last part was important.*

*Will he? After Romanoff told him I'm a distraction?*

*If he doesn't then this world is far more ruined off than I believed it to be.*

*What if truly is, Loki?* I couldn't help the hint of despair in my voice. *What if these so-called heroes in the end just aren't capable of defeating the Chitauri? Of defeating… the Titan? He will destroy the world if he gets the chance to. What happens then?*

*I would like to believe that if they truly turn out to be that incompetent, their defeat at such an important location, will prompt the rest of the world to surrender, and that might stave off T… the Titan's blood thirst… that the rest of this world might be able to endure…*

*Loki… love, it's alright.* I whispered soothingly. *You don't have to pretend for me. I may be optimistic most of the time, but I'm no fool. You can be honest with me… tell me what you really think, I can take it.*

*If the Chitauri defeat the Avengers, the Titan will destroy Midgard… there will be nothing left.*

It was as I had imagined. There was no other option, no plan c, this one had to work.

*Then we will make sure they win.* I stated.

We were still talking when suddenly a ripple of dark, sharp power went through Loki, and due to our bond, through me as well.

*Was that the scepter?* I asked, confused. *I thought they were studying it…*

*It is and they were.* My match nodded. *It's acting up. Heightening their tempers, their arguments, turning them against each other. Breaking them down piece by piece until they will either have to pull themselves together or cease existing…*

*The question is, will they be able to fight it?* I continued his statement. *Will they be able to become the team the Earth needs to be saved?*

There were no answers to my questions, there was no way of knowing. The heroes were standing on the edge of a knife, and they had to fall, one way or the other; I just hoped it would be the right way; otherwise we were all screwed.

I hated that so much had to depend on a bunch of people I didn't even trust. Honestly! Loki had been risking himself with the Titan for a whole year, I was playing a quite dangerous game of victim/accomplice in that helicarrier; and yet, when the moment came for thing to hit their climax…the end result wasn't up to either of us.

*They're here…* I heard Loki whisper vaguely.

"They're here…" I couldn't help but repeat out loud even as I reconnected with my body.

"Who?" I heard someone ask beside me. "Who's here Silbhé?"

My eyes snapped open at that. I hadn't noticed anyone entering the room.

It was Phil. He was, as always, in his suit; though he looked more tired than I'd ever seen him, and tense, so very tense.

"Who is here Silbhé?" He repeated the question, more forcefully this time. "What have you been hiding? Whose side are you really on?"

"I would say I'm on no one's side because no one's on my side…but that's not really what you want to hear, is it?" I didn't wait for an answer. "I could tell you I am dead or at least I should be; I could tell you I'm married even if it's not legal everywhere; I could tell you I'm fighting for love and for justice even if most people won't believe it… all those things would be true, though the truth is subjective and even when it's staring you in the face you cannot always see it. What I will tell you is this: I am doing what I believe is right, something I'm willing to live, fight and die for. However, in the end, things won't be decided only by my decisions, but by everyone's in this helicarrier. You have placed all your hopes in the so-called heroes Phil, what will they do when their trial by fire comes? Because at this point, either they win or the world burns."

Phil's eyes went wide, and I could almost see his brain trying to process everything I was saying. He was dealing with a serious overload of information.

Right then, as if the situation weren't already stressful enough, the floor shook violently. Enough that I had to hold onto the cot (and I'd just stood); while Phil slammed against the nearest wall.

"What the hell was that?!" Phil demanded even as he reached for his earpiece.

Whatever was said to him, it was enough to make him forget all about me as he turned around, opened the door and rushed outside, yelling orders to everyone he met on the way. In a matter of seconds my guards were gone…and they didn't even close the door on their way out. Not that it would have stopped me…but still.

I walked to the door slowly, all the while wondering what exactly to do next. The plan included what my actions were supposed to be after the mess we were currently in was over, but we never discussed what exactly I was supposed to do during the actual mess…

*That's because I knew in the end you would make your own decision.* I heard Loki in my head. *You want to help…think who needs your help the most, and go.*

I could hear his worry in the words, but he knew as well as I that my instincts to help had always been too great to just ignore them.

Right as I heard a loud roar echo all through the helicarrier I made my decision.

The origin of it wasn't actually that far away. It took me no time at all to walk to the entrance of one of the hangars. The Hulk was there, and Thor.

"We're not your enemies, Banner!" The blonde Asgardian yelled. "Try to think!"

The god of thunder was trying hard to hold back the 'huge green rage monster' as Stark had dubbed him, but the Hulk seemed to be more powerful than anyone could have expected. Also, something told me that ignoring it in favor of trying to talk to Dr. Banner wasn't helping.

As Thor was thrown against, and pretty much through, a container; I took a deep breath, told myself off for the insanity I was about to do, and stepped forward.

"Hulk?" I called softly.

The green creature turned in my direction instantly. I walked to it slowly, both hands raised, making sure it/he saw me as non-threatening as possible.

"Lady Silbhé?!" Thor exclaimed as he straightened up. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous! You should get out."

"I know." I answered simply. "But I don't think Hulk wants to hurt me, do you big guy?" I asked turning to the one in question. "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise."

"Hulk…don't…understand…" He said after a long while.

"Thor, why don't you go see who else needs help?" I asked looking over my shoulder at the blonde Asgardian briefly.

"I'm not sure it is a good idea…" Thor began, eyes still on Hulk.

"Please, if Hulk was going to hurt me, he would have done so already." I rolled my eyes. "The big guy knows I'm not an enemy. So we should be fine."

"Did Loki put you up to this?" The Asgardian suddenly asked, tensing.

I actually wasn't expecting that, it made me pause.

"No, I'm here by my own choice." I answered honestly.

"Do you have a choice?" Thor asked next.

"Of course I do!" I couldn't help but cry out, offended.

Behind me, Hulk rumbled and I hurried to calm him down with what I hope were soothing motions… I wondered if he was angered at the volume or the accusation…

"Easy big guy, everything's fine." I assured him, before turning back to Thor. "If you truly hold your brother in such low regard… then it is no surprise that he's that angry at you… You just don't know Loki at all, do you Thor?"

"You speak as if you do, my lady." He replied, watching me suspiciously.

The helicarrier tilted to the side slightly, reminding us the precarious situation we were all in. I was about to fall down when a big hand held me up.

"Thank you." I smiled at the Hulk.

The greatest surprise was, perhaps, when he smiled back.

"Go Thor, there are others who need your help right now." I told the Asgardian, looking over my shoulder at him.

"My lady…" He began, obviously still confused as hell.

"Go." I insisted, before adding. "I will give you one clue…you can call me Nightingale…"

"The Lady Nightingale?" He asked, eyes widening considerably.

I just smiled at him, raising my right arm and willing the deamarkonian to be seen. He would never be able to guess what it meant, but among all the symbols in it I made sure he could see one: Loki's symbol.

"We've got perimeter breach." We all heard suddenly over the intercoms. "Hostiles are in SHIELD gear. Call out to every junction."

"Go Thor!" I told him.

Finally, he left.

"Now, to help you big guy…" I wasn't even sure what could be done about the Hulk.

"Lady wants to help the Hulk…" He stated, evidently confused.

"Why not? You're one of the good guys! And I like helping the good guys." I assured him.

"Hulk… good guy?" He didn't seem too convinced about that himself.

"Yeah, maybe misunderstood…" I smirked. "But still good."

"Bruce… don't… think so…" I could have sworn he was pouting at that.

"He just doesn't understand, I don't think so." I tried to explain, which wasn't easy as there was a lot I didn't know. "We humans… we always want to understand things, we try very hard to learn and understand everything… and when there's one thing we just cannot understand… we tend to fear it. It's the same here, I think… Dr… Bruce just needs to understand…"

"You… understand…?" Hulk asked.

"Not sure I do." I admitted with a small shrug. "But I would like to try."

He smiled at me again.

Everything was going well… until someone opened fire on us! Granted, it's likely they were opening fire on the Hulk only, not seeing me because I was standing right behind him. But still. They were ruining everything!

The Hulk took hold of me, pressing me against his body for a few seconds, shielding me from the bullets being fired by a small plane, through the broken hangar doors.

"Hulk don't like friend hurt…" He grumbled in a low voice.

"I'm fine Hulk, you protected me." I assured him, trying to keep him somewhat calm.

"Hulk protect friend." He nodded. "Hulk not let anyone hurt friend."

Before I was completely sure what was going on the Hulk was rushing to the nearest door, with me still in his arms. The soldier on the plane began firing on us yet again. The Hulk pushed me past the door, before turning around and rushing at the plane, bringing it down in a matter of seconds…before he himself went down.

"Damnit!" I cursed out loud.

That definitely wasn't how things should have gone!

Deciding that cursing did me no good, I chose to try and find out Phil, knowing him he would be getting in all kinds of danger and the last thing needed was for him to get killed in the mess taking place. Then, as if things weren't bad enough already, the carrier began tilting, it was bad enough that I slipped sideways, crashing against a wall, unable to keep moving.

"What the hell is going on now?!" I couldn't help but yell out-loud.

*Nightingale…* I heard Loki calling, his voice was low, almost hesitant. *Things are about to truly go to hell here!*

I had no idea what was going on. While I knew it was part of the plan for Loki to get away, and in the process do something to infuriate Thor enough that the blonde Asgardian would still fight him in the battle to come…I had no idea what could be happening.

*Your friend is here.* Loki said simply.

Since there was only one friend of mine in the helicarrier, there was obviously only one person that could be there. My blood ran cold.

*He's watching…* Loki murmured in an almost empty voice inside our bond. *I cannot stop this. I'm sorry my Nightingale…*

*Loki…?* I called. *Wait…*

I didn't know for sure what he was about to do, but I knew it couldn't be good. Not if it was something the Titan wanted him to do, so much 'He' was keeping an eye on Loki through it. Not if my love was asking for my forgiveness already…

I actually stopped breathing, as a corner of my mind offered a possibility… one that the conscious part of my mind simply refused to process. So I didn't. Instead I focused, took a look at the silver-colored bracelets in the wrist that didn't have my deamarkonian, and I jumped.

It was like falling, through nothingness. Except that when I landed there was no jarring sensation in my feet or my legs. Still, with the helicarrier falling I didn't manage to find my balance in time, slamming against the nearest wall once again.

I couldn't actually teleport to the room with the crystal cage where Loki had been, it was too dangerous. So instead I did so into the hall, several feet away from the room in question. What I never expected was how difficult it would be to get the doors to open.

"Damnit!" I screamed.

I stopped my cursing when I began hearing voices, they were coming from the inside:

"You're going to lose." The first was Phil's voice, and he sounded strange, like out-of-breath.

"Am I?" The second voice belonged to my beloved.

"It's in your nature," Phil sounded as if he were saying something that was supposed to be obvious, and maybe for him it was.

"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky… and none of you can yet see the truth of my plan…" Loki was evidently annoyed. "Where is my disadvantage?"

"You lack conviction…" Phil insisted.

"Who said I planned on winning anything anyway?" I could almost picture my match rolling his eyes as he said that. "I've said it time and again, Son of Coul, and still you do not understand. At this point I don't think I…"

Whatever else Loki was planning on saying was interrupted by a huge boom.

"Loki!" I couldn't help but yelling out-loud.

I didn't actually wait for an answer, raising my left arm, palm open, straight at the door, it blew open. I had to take a deep breath before finally entering the room. The first thing I noticed, to my right, was the sizeable hole in the wall. Something had been shot, blown, or something similar, straight through it. And I had a feeling I knew what…or who…

*My love…?* I asked mentally.

*I'm sorry my Nightingale…I have to go…* He whispered brokenly, then cut off the connection.

I actually staggered when the blocks came up. Never in the eleven months since we'd been bonded had he so much as tried to impede our connection in any way. And yet…

I heard a sharp, gasping sound…it took me a second to realize it was coming from me. I was beginning to hyperventilate. And yet, before I could completely lose it, I heard a voice behind me calling my name weakly…

"Silbhé…"

I spun around instantly. It was Phil. He was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, one of the phase two prototype-weapons in his hands…and he was bleeding out!

"Phil!" I cried out. "Oh Spirits…"

In an instant I was in a panic, only it was no longer because of Loki, but Phil.

I was just checking him over to try and get an idea of how serious things might be when I suddenly felt a piercing stare in the back of my head. I didn't ask who had just arrived, I didn't need to, his presence was obvious enough.

"I'm sorry boss." Phil said in a hoarse voice. "They got rabbited."

"Just stay awake." Fury ordered, crouching beside me.

"Oh, I'm clockin' out here…" Phil stated, his blink lasting a bit too much.

"No!" I cried out, checking his wound more urgently than before.

"Not an option." Fury seemed to somewhat agree, then he turned to me. "And you Professor…I'd imagined you would be gone by now…"

"You don't know me Director, do not presume to understand or even know my actions, much less my intentions." I stated, still checking on Phil.

"Oh but I know a few things Professor Salani…or should I say Professor Hveðrungr?" The man asked, a hint of steel in his voice. "We found the records just an hour ago. Marriage license for a Silbhé Salani and a Luka Hveðrungr, dated nine days ago…you know what's the most interesting detail? The fact that your husband's name fits exactly with two of the alternate names Norse mythology has assigned to a certain god of mischief, Loki…"

Phil's eyes were wide, right, I was supposed to invite them to the wedding… not that there had been much of a wedding. Loki and I'd just gone to city hall and filled the paperwork. It was part of plan b: making our union legal so we had more rights concerning each other, at least on Earth. In the end, it was more of a security blanket than anything else, still, it didn't change the fact that, for all intents and purposes, I got married and didn't invite my friends.

"Are my things still in this vessel?" I asked abruptly.

"What?" Neither man was expecting that question.

"My things." I insisted, running out of patience. "I'm not stupid gentlemen, or blind. Even when you gave me back my purse, some things were missing…"

Phil had the decency to look embarrassed, Fury didn't.

"Well Professor, we were under the impression that you were under a spell…" The Director said, sarcasm quite obvious in his voice.

"Again." I insisted. "My things."

"They're in the Research hangar." Phil said in a low voice, labored breathing.

"This better work…" I couldn't help but mutter under my breath.

It took some effort, Phil's condition was stressing me out, but I managed. In a matter of seconds there was a slight flash of pale white light and two objects materialized in my hand: crystal vials, one bigger than the other.

From the corner of my eye I noticed the men eyeing me carefully, but I ignored them. Without a word I pocketed the bigger vial, the one filled with liquid. I kept the other in hand.

"Director, if you want to save Phil I'm going to need your help." I said straight out. "I need you to push aside Phil's clothes and help him lay down so I can have access to the wounds."

"What…?" Both asked.

"There's no time for explanations!" I snapped. "If this is going to work we need to do it now! I need you to trust me."

It was obvious that the Director didn't trust me, not in the slightest and yet…Phil's answer was quite surprising.

"I trust you Silbhé…" He stated, no hesitation in his voice.

He tried to take his jacket off himself, but a pained groan stopped him. It was then that Fury decided to act, pushing the jacket back and then unbuttoning the shirt and pushing it open as well. Phil was wearing an undershirt, and we couldn't get that off, but still, it was better. It was awful to see Phil's face twist in pain when Fury helped him lay down. Still, I didn't have time to break down, or cry, or anything of the sort, Phil needed me.

"Very well, here goes." I stated.

As smoothly as I could I uncorked the vial and began pouring its contents straight onto Phil's bleeding wound, doing my best not to think about just how red his clothes were…

"What is that?" Fury wanted to know.

"A special something my husband gave me." I answered simply. "Powdered healing stone. It's what Asgardians use to heal serious injuries."

"The people from Research tried and failed to open the vials." The Director pointed out.

"They are sealed magically." I replied. "Mainly because the powder of healing stones is only effective right as its being taken from a crushed stone. These vials allow the powder to hold the properties as long as the vials remain corked, they can only be unsealed by me. In few words, they are for my exclusive use, and only meant for emergencies." My breath hitched slightly as the wound began glowing finally. "This certainly qualifies."

I stopped once I'd poured half the contents of the vial, the equivalent of one healing stone, corking it once again immediately to make sure the remaining powder didn't lose its properties, I still didn't put it away, just in case it was needed.

A couple of seconds after I stopped pouring the light died out. Before Fury could ask me why I stopped we both heard Phil take in a ragged breath, once, twice, three times before he finally sat up. His hands wandered across his chest, over his blood stained clothes and skin, finding no wound, not even a scar.

"Thank you…" He said quietly, smiling at me.

"I'm just glad I got here in time." I smiled back at him, then pocketed the still half-full vial and then held my arms out to Fury. "I guess you'll take me in now?"

The man watched me for a couple of seconds, obviously understanding the significance of my pose (I was surrendering, turning myself in); but in the end he did not take my offer. Instead getting on his feet, and giving Phil a hand to do the same.

"Come with us, professor." He told me.

A bit confused, as I did not understand why I wasn't being chained, cuffed, or something along those lines, I got on my feet and followed after the two men.

"Loki is gone, I repeat, Loki is gone." Fury spoke into his earpiece. "Stark, Rogers, Romanoff, I will meet you at the bridge…"

"You can tell Barton to come as well, if he isn't released from the spell yet, I can help." I told him quietly, very aware of the curiosity my statement created.

"And bring Agent Barton with you." He then addressed someone else. "Hill, report!"

"Engine 3 is working once again, but engine 1 is still off, we do not know how…" I half-heard the woman, as Fury's communication device was loud enough.

I realized then I could actually feel the helicarrier, it was still a bit tilted to a side. With a sigh I stopped walking briefly, closed my eyes and concentrated on what I wanted. I learnt of my success a second later.

"Engine 1 is up and running sir." Hill stated.

When I opened my eyes I saw the two men a few steps in front of me, watching me with their piercing stares, obviously waiting on an explanation.

"Is that another 'little something'?" Fury asked eventually, brow raised.

"Something like that." I shrugged slightly, fingering my silver bracelets discreetly. "It doesn't work with everything, and sometimes it doesn't actually work right. Still, I have access to some of his magic, for my own safety. Seeing how we knew I would be surrounded by a bunch of super-human individuals and more than one trigger-happy agent…"

Phil actually snorted at that. I didn't reply and we began walking again.

"What are you exactly, professor?" Fury wanted to know.

"That's a tricky question." I replied flippantly. "Hard to answer. However, I can quite easily tell you what I'm not, Director… I'm not your enemy."

"We shall see." He murmured, more to himself than to me.

Only Hill, Stark and Rogers were in the bridge when we got there; aside from the techs handling the computers. Still, that didn't stop the pandemonium the moment everyone saw us, and particularly the considerable blood on Phil's clothes. All three of them were upon the agent in an instant, and it didn't take long for him to look overwhelmed.

"You need to get him to sit down." I pointed out. "And drink something, preferably something with sugar, to get the blood pressure up." I thought on it a bit. "You might also need a blood transfusion sometime soon, you did lose a lot of blood Phil, and that's not something magic, or anything else, can make out of nothing."

"We have no blood banks here in the helicarrier…" Phil began in a tired voice.

"You have people, don't you?" I rolled my eyes. "Find someone compatible and willing to be a donor. There are more than enough people in this vessel!"

"Who knows if they would be willing?" Phil shrugged.

"For you, I'm sure quite a number of them would be willing." I shrugged. "Hey! I would do it, except, it's not a good idea."

"And why is that?" Fury asked, obvious interest in his eyes.

"You know the answer to that as well as I Director." I said, but still gave the answer. "With the cancer in my blood, it's just not a good idea…"

"You have leukemia!" Hill seemed shocked by that.

"Yes, have had it since I was a child." I shrugged, I'd grown used to it, I was still alive anyway. "Director Fury called me a medical miracle!" I snorted.

"You never did explain how you survived it." Fury pointed out.

"I don't think that's what you really want to be talking about now." I said evasively. "Or have you all really forgotten about the danger the planet is in?"

That seemed to bring them all back down to Earth, figuratively, I could only roll my eyes.

"Espíritus él tenía razón." I couldn't help but whisper in Spanish. "No están listos…a este paso nunca van a estar listos!" I could have face-palmed, but it went against my image. "Estos son los héroes que van a salvar el mundo…el mundo está arruinado."

"A little more faith would be appreciated, professor." Stark said succinctly.

"I didn't actually understand what she just said." Rogers pointed out.

"She said 'He' was right, that we aren't ready, we will never be ready." Stark translated my words. "Then she said, and I quote 'These are the heroes that are going to save the world…the world is ruined' end quote."

"Tell me Stark, do you honestly think that you, any of you are ready?" My eyes narrowed.

He might be a millionaire, but I was no little girl, he did not intimidate me and I made sure he realized that, that they all realized it.

"A force of less than two dozen men, possessed men, with no creativity or individual thought, attacked this fortress, and you all got your asses handed to you." I reminded him coldly. "Each of you almost died, at least once, today. And you think you're ready to take on an army come straight out from the abyss?! Do not be an idiot! You are nowhere near ready!" I sighed. "And yet, there's no one else, because you either win this, or the world is screwed!"

"Sorry, I don't get it, aren't you Loki's wife?" Hill asked, confused.

That brought yet another round of chaos. The most obvious was the way every single person who could handle a gun, was pointing one straight at me. All except Phil, who was looking at me with something akin to embarrassment…at least it wasn't pity.

"What a way of letting the cat out of the bag…" I muttered with a sigh.

"You have to admit it's quite strange for you to be talking about us winning, particularly with our most recent discovery, professor." Fury pointed out.

"Tell me Director, if you really were through enough with your investigation, how far back do records of one Luka Hveðrungr go?" I asked, raising a brow.

For the looks of confusion it was obvious no one understood where I was trying to get, but still, at a signal from Fury Hill got the pertinent documents up in a screen.

"The oldest record is dated nine years ago." She stated, checking them over. "He commissioned a black jade Chinese transversal flute, a dizi flute to be precise…wait, isn't that…?"

"This flute." I finished for her, pulling said instrument from the inner pocket of the jacket, opposite from the one I had the healing vials in.

"What is so special about a flute?" Stark asked, confused.

"Aside from the fact that it's perfectly attuned, something extremely rare in one of this kind made of stone…stone doesn't carry sound as well as other materials like, say, bamboo or other woods." I pointed out. "It also sounds like a Nightingale…"

I brought the flute to my lips, letting out a soft, basic note, an imitation of the call of the aforementioned bird, the very one I'd been named after…

"It was a gift, he gave it to me nine years ago." I pointed out. "The first gift he ever gave me."

"Wait a second." Rogers was the first to put the facts together. "You mean you've known Loki since you were like…what? Ten? Twelve?"

"More like eleven, but anyway." I told him with a smirk. "I do think Phil read you my file the day I arrived to the helicarrier. He told you I was twenty, that I graduated at nineteen, yadda, yadaa… if you take into consideration the years that have passed since the record of that flute's creation… well it's quite obvious I was eleven at the time."

This time there was no chaos, everyone's shock seemed to be just too great.

"The full story is long, and complicated, and so not relevant to our current situation." I said with a tired sigh. "Still, I will clarify a few things, because I hate to have people level accusations at me, particularly foundationless accusations." I eyed Fury. "It was not just luck that I studied mythology, history, literature…Loki got me interested in such topics since I was young. I began college at fourteen, finished my three master degrees when I was nineteen. It was truly a coincidence that you decided you needed an expert on my fields right around that time…and it was also convenient."

Before I could continue my explanation, Barton and Romanoff entered the room, the first of them still speaking as he did.

"Like I said before, I really will feel better once I've managed to put an arrow in Loki's eye." He stated coldly, ignoring the looks everyone sent him.

"I truly hope you will be able to restrain yourself Hawkeye, particularly since I'm quite fond of my husband's eyes." I couldn't help but quip.

The reaction was instantaneous as he drew a small knife and threw it straight at me. I barely managed to move my head in time to evade it, though I still watched a curl of auburn hair, my hair, land on the table I was resting my elbows on.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I happen to like my hair as it is already."

Stark snorted from a side.

"What the hell is she doing here?" The Widow demanded hotly.

"What Widow, still angry you couldn't get me to talk?" I asked raising a brow in a challenging motion. "Or is it that after you thought you'd finally succeeded with Loki, you ended up playing straight into his hands?" I shook my head. "I mean, you do realize that, right? You thought you'd managed to put him off his game, that his mention of you bringing a monster onboard was a slip of the tongue rather than part of a carefully orchestrated plan…It was a ploy, all along. I hope you can see that now…"

"You try to convince us you want to save the Earth, and then tell us how your husband has been playing games with us all along." Rogers said, obviously angry. "How are we supposed to trust you? To trust anything you say?"

"Oh, you're not supposed to trust me." I said flippantly. "Truly, with how you all are, it would be stupid to think I could get you to trust me in three months, much less three days. No, you were supposed to learn to trust each other." I turned absolutely serious. "Loki might have been playing games, but they all had a reason. You needed to see your weaknesses, as well as your strengths, and you needed to learn to work together, to compensate for each other. You were supposed to become a team! And you failed…"

That certainly got everyone's attention.

"Have you never heard: 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

"How are we supposed to trust anything you say?" Romanoff demanded. "Spell or no spell…"

I was about to roll my eyes once again, but the last part caught my attention, so I directed a questioning look to Phil, who was at my side.

"Your eyes are still blue." He pointed out.

"Ah, right." I nodded.

With a sigh I waved my left hand across my face. Suddenly my eyes were no longer the bright blue of the Mind Gem, but instead back to their usual hazel; right in that moment more brown than green, due to the depth of my worry over everything that was going on.

"You were never under a spell." Phil stated the obvious.

"I was never under a spell." I agreed. "However, it had to seem like I was, or you would have never listened to me. Though, in the end, it's not like you paid that much attention to anything I said so, I'm not sure if it was worth it."

"If you truly wanted to help us that much, why come in with 'Dark and Psycho'?" Stark asked me. "Why not come on your own?"

"Right, because that would have yielded wonderful results." I drawled. "An unknown, someone who was supposed to be a civilian consultant, having more information than even the Asgardian already on their side? It wasn't going to go down well with anyone. By the time they agreed to listen to me, if they ever did, it would have been too late. The world would be screwed. Not that we're doing much better right now, but still." I took a deep breath, it was time they all understood a few things. "Things weren't supposed to be this way, you know? We're already on plan b, we've been since I sent my resignation letter."

"Plan B?" Several asked.

"What was the original plan?" Phil wanted to know.

"The original plan meant Loki playing the bad guy, the Avengers assembling, the Chitauri being defeated and the world being saved." I deadpanned. "However, Asgard was taking too long to send Thor back to Earth, no one in S.H.I.E.L.D. realized the true danger the Earth was in, and the great 'heroes' that were supposed to save the Earth were more likely to destroy it in a fit of childishness because none of them… none of you were ready to be a team!"

"Where were you supposed to be through all this?" Hill was curious.

"Away." I shrugged. "Loki doesn't like it when I am in danger. If Plan A had gone through I would have stayed with Jane. Which means right now I would be somewhere in Northern Europe, 'safe'. I would have come back after it was all over, to explain to you how my husband isn't really the bad guy this time!"

"He's the one leading the Chitauri!" Someone reminded me.

"Oh Spirits you cannot all be that blind!" I cried out, cradling my head in my hands.

Really, they couldn't. Someone, at least one person had to have noticed something, at the very least a sliver of the truth, because if they hadn't…Oh lord…What was I supposed to do if no one had at least begun to notice the truth yet?!

"He's playing double agent."

Silence was absolute, and everyone turned to look at the one who had just said those words. It was Phil…thank the spirits for Phil!

"He's been playing double agent all along…and this plan b…it's you, has been you all along." Phil said, with obvious realization.

"More or less, yes." I nodded, then clarified. "I don't know if 'double agent' qualifies when the 'other side' is only me, but I am here, I have his back, as I always have and always will. When we first made 'plan b'… it was supposed to be something for an emergency, we never actually thought about what would happen if we used it. Like I said before, he's never liked me being in any kind of danger… Still, he trusts me enough to handle this, and right now, if I don't do this, we really will all be screwed."

"So talk then professor." Fury stated, taking a seat, finally. "Enlighten us."

I took a deep breath as I knew that whatever came out of my mouth next, it had to be good.

"The whole story is long, and complicated, but here's the cliff-notes version." I stated, sitting straight and speaking seriously. "It is true Loki is acting as leader of the Chitauri right now, the army will invade Earth…and that's something that needs to happen."

Just like expected, that was as far as I got, because instantly almost everyone began to scream at me, their looks showing they would kill me if they got the chance.

"Why?" Fury's demand silenced them all. "You seem to be very interested in the world being saved Professor? Why then would we need to allow this invasion?"

"Because if you don't… Loki is going to die." I admitted quietly.

"Why professor?" The Director asked yet again. "If you truly expect our cooperation you better give me a damn good reason."

"Fine, here's the situation." I stated, dead serious. "A year ago, Loki fell off the Bifrost after a fight with Thor. I'm not going to give you any details on that fight, because that's between the two of them… and maybe me, if I ever get the chance to tell Thor a few things… Anyway, for almost a month I knew nothing about him, only barely that he was alive, and hurt. Eventually he found his way to my home, right after my graduation ceremony in fact. He was badly hurt, and you really do not need to know the details on that front. He was in what Asgardians call the Abyss, the space off Yggdrassil's branches, off all the known, and unknown worlds; a space where no one is supposed to be able to survive. According to all the stories, he should have died. He didn't. And what's more, he discovered others who existed in that space, that near emptiness between worlds: they were the Chitauri, and their leader… whose name I won't pronounce because doing so is akin to calling to him, and the last thing we need is for him to know the kind of information I'm giving you."

I took a few deep breaths as I gathered my thoughts. Hill was kind enough to offer me a glass of water, something I was thankful for. I was finally crashing after my adrenaline high earlier and it was making me a bit dizzy. Still, there was no time to rest, I still needed to get the Avengers to actually assemble, otherwise plan b wouldn't be worth a damn.

"The Mad Titan, to call him something, is the real leader of the Chitauri." I stated.

"So you didn't mean Loki when you mentioned a Titan!" Stark interrupted.

"Excuse me?" That one took me by surprise. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"Your work, actually." He said with a shrug. "I've been reading up on your papers in the last few days, mainly those that concern mythology. In one you actually talk about Titans, it called my attention after the things you said on your first night here…however, you yourself said there are no actual titans in Norse mythology. The closest thing they have is Giants, both Fire and Frost ones. And Thor mentioned something about Loki's heritage…"

"Thor and his fan-fucking-tastically big mouth…" I muttered under my breath, then sighed and added louder. "No, I was not talking about my husband. A Jotun, a Frost Giant, is not truly a Titan. And the fact that Norse mythology didn't mention them does not mean they did not exist in Asgard, or some other world in Yggdrassil's branches. I actually have a theory, mixing Norse and Greek mythology and some things Loki's told me… I never published it because… well, Asgard isn't exactly public knowledge, is it?" I shook my head. "Anyway, theories aside, the fact is, there is a leader of the Chitauri, one who is not my match, not my husband. He is under the belief that Loki is under his control; which is, of course, absolutely ridiculous, but still. My match has spent the last year working as a double agent, delaying the Chitauri invasion by any means short of revealing his true allegiances. All in an attempt to give you, all of you time. So you would be able to defeat the Chitauri when the time came. The simple truth is that the Chitauri invasion is going to happen, regardless of what we may want. With Loki heading it at least there is some control… I do not want to imagine what the Other would do if he were in charge. At the very least we would have to deal with multiple attacks at the same time. You will only have to deal with one. But the defeat has to be definite enough that it won't be happening again. You need to take the Chitauri down for good, both for the Earth, and for Loki…"

"Will Loki help us once the invasion begins?" Hill wanted to know.

"No." I shook my head, painfully aware of what my words meant. "He will not directly try to kill you, but he will not aid you either. It would be too risky. If his cover is blown before the Titan is dealt with…" I shivered. "It's why he did what he did to Thor, so he will see Loki as an enemy once the battle begins, and treat him as such."

"Do you understand what you're saying?" Rogers asked me, cold voice with a hint of… it was almost like worry… "If we fight Loki, we won't hold back. He will get hurt."

"I know." I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "We've both known this all along."

I still doubted any wounds they could deal on him would be worse than what had been done to him during his first visit to the abyss, but still…

"We're missing something." Stark said abruptly. "You said all that happened here was part of Loki's plan. How?"

"I told you already, you were supposed to become a team!" I half-snapped tiredly. "Everything he did was meticulously planned. The Director said once that Loki acted like he wanted to be here, and it was the truth. It was him, or more precisely the scepter, that was tracked for the attack to take place. It could only happen if he was here."

"He made it personal." Stark understood then.

"That's not the point." Rogers shook his head.

I was about to sigh, but Stark changed everything right then.

"That is exactly the point." The millionaire interrupted. "That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we are, where we currently live. Why?"

"To tear us apart." Hill guessed, still untrusting.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great and all, and pretty much what I would say under normal circumstances but…" He stopped as he pondered. "But if we change the cards…"

"Why are you all so willing to believe what she's saying?" Romanoff growled. "She's nothing more than Loki's slut!"

I noticed Phil turning to his Agent, I had a feeling he might try to defend me, and while that warmed me up, I also knew it wasn't the best idea, not right then.

"I am not a slut Miss Romanova." I purposefully used her real (or original) last name. "I am legally and magically married to Loki. He's the only man in my life. Now, that kind of fidelity might not mean much to you, but it does to me. I love him, and I'm willing to do just about anything for that love."

"Including destroying the world!" Romanoff hissed.

"Where do you suppose I would live then?" I arched a brow. "I am a mortal, and as such cannot live in Asgard. If Earth burns, so do I. So, if we were to follow your own form of logic, it's in no one's best interest, not even my own, that the Earth burn." I sighed. "No, it's because of that love that I'm willing to deal with a bunch of pseudo-heroes who think that having some extra abilities and/or talents gives them the right to judge everyone around them…"

"Such heroes throwing stones, straight at the one who is standing alone…" I recognized it as Rogers quoted my song from the other night.

"Truth is never honest when you're to blame…" Stark added with another quote.

"Interesting what you come up with when you're stressed out and bored, huh?" I tried to make light of the matter, even as I prayed that the memory of my song would help somehow rather than make things worse…

"He sought to give you a reason to become a team." Phil stated with the quiet confidence so usual of him. "He was giving you something to fight for, rather than just someone to fight against."

"Really?" Romanoff huffed. "You gonna excuse his attempt at murder against you, too?"

What had happened to Phil was no secret, the cameras had caught the whole action, and it was obvious the Black Widow had already seen it.

"It was a last ditch effort." I admitted quietly before turning to Phil. "He didn't want to do it. I swear, I could feel it inside…" I swallowed a sob before turning to everyone else. "Phil is… like a sort of lynchpin keeping all of you together; both Loki and I could see that… If having something to fight for wasn't enough, he was going to give you something to avenge."

I was about to break down crying. I could still remember with painful clarity the grief in my love's mental voice as he kept apologizing, even before I knew what exactly he was doing. Then he'd said that …'He' was watching…? He… The Titan?! Spirits! And then when he blocked our bond… I couldn't even sense him anymore! The only reason I even knew for sure he was still alive was because I was still standing!

I was still half lost in my grief when I noticed someone was standing right behind me. A look at Phil from the corner of my eye told me everything was fine, though the fact that Romanoff was standing right behind him told me that might be up for debate. Still I spun around along with the chair I was on, to face the person standing right there: It was Hawkeye.

His eyes were gray with a hint of blue, very different from the color that had been caused by the mind-control; his hair was short and light-brown and he was wearing his usual black attire. I thought he was a bit too pale for it to be healthy, but just waited in silence for him to speak.

"Am I weak?" He asked with no preamble.

"Excuse me…?" I wasn't expecting that, at all.

"Clint…" I heard Romanoff began, her voice incredibly soft, at least in comparison to the way she'd been talking to me all along.

"No 'Tasha, I need to do this. I need to know." He insisted, before turning back to me. "Tell me, professor. Am I weak? Is that why Loki chose me? Could I have done anything to get free?"

"No." I answered after a second more to comprehend everything, I sighed before explaining. "No Agent Barton, Hawkeye. You could not have gotten free, no one could have. And you're certainly not weak. There is a reason why you were chosen, and it's in fact the opposite of what you seem to believe right now. You're strong… so very strong. We… Loki needed someone like that, someone who could handle the hard work these last few days. He chose you because he knew you would get the work done, that and because your status would contribute with making the whole thing more personal to certain people. The way you were possessed… you only remember bits and pieces, only enough for your mind not to snap at the time lost, and that's all you're ever going to remember; because all that happened during those days, it wasn't you, it was the things that Loki needed you to do."

"You know that would make him responsible for those deaths and injuries." Natasha pointed out, coldly yet curious.

"I know." I shook my head slightly. "I may love my husband, may be loyal to him, but I'm not oblivious to his faults, or my own. I… we both know a day will come when we'll have to pay for the things we've done, both good and bad. But today… today we have other things to worry about. Also, you are not going to pin the deaths of the people who couldn't evacuate your HQs last week on him. That was your fault for being arrogant enough to think you could control something like the Tesseract. You didn't even have appropriate safety measures in place!"

Fury looked offended by my words, but didn't say a thing. Even he seemed to realize that what I was saying in that moment concerning Hawkeye was more important.

"I'm truly, deeply sorry, H… Agent Barton. Truth is I… We knew there would be consequences." I admitted quietly to the man before me. "Because of the actions we forced you to take, even if it was against your will. It's also another of the reasons why it had to be you. On the one hand, your eventual confrontation with the Black Widow…"

"You meant to use him to bring me down…" Romanoff gasped.

"No!" I cried out. "The confrontation was meant to force the two of you to realize your own bonds! The trust! The loyalty! The comradeship! It was part of making you a team!"

"Loki said…" The redheaded began.

"He told you what you wanted to hear!" I snapped at her. "He was playing a part! When are you going to see that? What? You can act, but he can't? I can't?" I shook my head before turning back to her partner. "We always knew we would need to take someone who was high-ranked from S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil was out of the question, I don't want to imagine the kind of mess that would have come to be if we'd taken him away from you… we didn't know Hill enough, and Fury was an obvious nono… so it was either you, or the Black Widow… We decided on you."

He shook his head, obviously having trouble to deal with everything I'd said.

"Just, one more thing." I added, remembering another detail right then. "We… I would have never allowed it, if I didn't believe you strong enough, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally, to get over something like this…"

With that and a tired sigh, I finished the glass of water I'd been given then got on my feet and began to walk out:

"If you need me, I'll be in my room." I told them in a self-dismissive tone. "I promise to be a good girl and stay put."

Phil, Stark and at least two other people snorted at that, but no one said a word.

"You know where Loki is going to be doing everything, don't you?" Hill called to me. "Why don't you tell us?"

"Why don't you ask Stark?" I inquired in turn, looking at them over my shoulder. "I'm sure he's genius enough to figure it out."

"Well, Loki's a full-tail diva…" Stark began impishly, winking at me dramatically before continuing his speech. "He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…"

I didn't stay long enough to hear him, hear them all, come to the obvious (in my opinion) realization. Instead doing as I had said and going for my room. I wanted to take a shower and lay down for a bit, a nap might do me good…

**xXx**

I didn't actually get the chance for a nap. I did, however, shower and got into clean clothes (once again my own, thankfully). This time the ensemble consisted of a silvery white camisole-style top, dark-washed jeans with a design in black on a side of one leg, a silver belt, dark blue-violet jacket with a number of metallic zippers, dark almost-knee high leather boots; I also kept the silver bracelets I'd been wearing since the gala in Stuttgart, my nightingale pendant, triquetra earrings, the deamarkonian and the claddagh tattoo were both concealed.

I had finished towel-drying my hair for the most part and was mentally debating whether to leave it down or do something else with it, when suddenly I was surprised by my door opening. It was Stark, seemingly oblivious to the fact that only S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were supposed to be able to open that door (of course I knew it was an act).

"You ready?" He asked me with no preambles.

"Excuse me?" I hadn't the slightest idea what he was talking about.

"We're leaving, now." He announced before backing from the door and beginning to walk away.

I realized it then, they were going to New York, to fight the Chitauri. They probably already knew Loki was using Stark Tower as base of operations…And had I truly just been invited along? Something told me that was purely Stark's idea. What if the others didn't like it?

"To hell with it." I hissed, tying my hair in a knot at the base of my head.

In an instant I decided I simply did not care what anyone else thought. If I had the chance to help in any way, I would. Granted, there was also the risk of getting killed in the process, but since I had already lived six more years than I ever expected to, and I loved Loki more than my life, I was willing to take the risk.

I double-checked that I'd properly passed the healing vials as well as my flute to the inner pockets of my jacket; the first in case of an emergency, the second because it was my most prized possession and almost a good-luck charm. I reached the rest of the team right as they were strapping themselves in the quinjet. None said a word regarding my presence, just signaled to an empty seat so I would strap myself.

"Anything else you can tell us about what we're facing?" Captain America asked me from his seat, in front of me.

"I imagine you already know Stark Tower is going to be ground zero for this." I said calmly.

"You said we cannot stop the invasion from happening." He reminded.

"No, even…" I took a deep breath to keep my composure. "Even if this weren't about Loki's life. If you stop the Chitauri from invading today, they will just do it some other time, a time when you won't be prepared for them. Right now… it's awful, and I know there are going to be loses; but we all know it would be much worse if they happen to come someday when you're all separated, not ready to fight them."

I could hear the two Agents manning the vessel mutter low, reluctant agreements.

"Anything you can do to help?" Hawkeye wanted to know.

It surprised me that he was actually willing to talk to me, and in a calm, respectful tone. Still, I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I'm no good for one on one combat." I admitted. "But I can do some magic. My plan is mostly to try and help the people evacuate the area."

"That's a good idea." Captain America agreed.

I half heard the Black Widow exchanging words with Iron Man over the radio, but I didn't really pay attention. Not until we actually came across the Chitauri and the Widow began firing the quinjet's weapons at them.

We eventually made it pretty close to Stark Tower. And that was the first look I got of my love since his abrupt departure from the helicarrier hours earlier. He was battling Thor on the Tower's platform, near the top; and it was at the very top that we could see the machine with the Tesseract in the middle, it was working the portal.

"Nat!" Hawkeye called.

"I see 'em!" Black Widow replied.

It looked like she might be thinking about shooting them, but before she could Loki threw Thor to the floor, then shot a blast from his scepter to one of the jet's rotor blades. It caught on fire.

"Shit!" I heard both Agents curse at the same time.

"We're gonna get killed here…" I heard the Captain mutter under his breath.

That made me snap back to focus.

"No, we won't." I stated with no doubt.

I closed my eyes to focus as much as I could, and then willed the damage to the quinjet to be undone. Seconds passed…and we were still falling…

"Damnit!" I cried out, furious.

We had a somewhat-emergency landing in a nearby park. Not the best thing, but not the worst either. At least we didn't get killed.

"I imagine you had something to do with that." The Widow stated as she unstrapped herself.

I had managed to put out the fire, and got the rotor working again, somewhat…truth is I didn't have the slightest idea how the thing was supposed to work. Without knowing I couldn't visualize, and the magic tended to get wacky without proper visualization.

"Did what I could." I shrugged as I unstrapped myself.

"At least we're all in one piece." Hawkeye declared as he took his weapons.

"Lets go." The Captain declared, as he was the first out of the jet. "We gotta get back up there."

I could see where he was coming from…not quite sure how we were supposed to manage that… still, I wasn't about to say that. So instead I just adjusted the ear-piece the Black Widow had handed to me on her way out of the quinjet and followed them.

We began looking around then, searching for a way to do as the Captain had said. I think I might have been the first one to see them, I certainly was the first one to react.

"Oh…por todos los cielos…" I whispered in shock.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Captain America asked through the com-channel.

"Seeing…still working on believing." We all heard Iron-Man's admittance.

The huge thing on the sky, the Leviathan…it was like a mix of a warship and a living creature, it was also the ugliest thing I'd seen in my life…and the most terrifying.

There were some more words exchanged but I wasn't paying them any attention, focused in making sure I didn't get killed before I could do anything to help.

"We've got civilians trapped." Hawkeye informed everyone out loud.

"Loki…" I heard the Captain mutter as if it were a curse.

"Less talk, more action Cap." I chastised him.

Then, before anyone could say a word, I was off.

I've never been the best at sports, particularly not good at running. Spending so much time sick during my childhood made it so I never gained a good physical condition. And yet…there was lives on the edge here…I had to do what I could.

So I ran. I ran all I could, stopping where there were groups of survivors, telling them to go either to a basement, the subway or down the street…depending which was easier for each. I would also bring up shields whenever there was the need.

Some of the men I met hesitated in following my orders, my size made it so they thought I should be protected, not the one doing the protecting. But I ignored them and kept going. On the other side, there were those who followed my orders even faster than they did Captain America's (I could still hear him over the earpiece, he'd finally stopped ranting at my rash actions and began helping himself), maybe because I was wearing no suit and no masks; they could see I was as human as the rest of them, and it made things somewhat easier to bear.

Still, it wasn't easy. Not with an alien army attacking us.

I kept helping as many people as I could. Things were going well, until at some point I threw up yet another shield, then miscalculated its reach. I noticed the young man about to be hurt in the very last moment and did the only thing I could at that point, I pushed him away, simultaneously ending myself in his place…I closed my eyes and waited for impact.

The impact came, except from the wrong side, and instead of being blown away, or crashing against something, I found myself almost flying…

I opened one eye slowly, carefully, wondering if it was Loki who had saved. I wasn't that lucky. No, the one who'd saved me was a tall, wiry figure in what looked like bright blue and red spandex with a design of…were those spider-webs? Yes, they were, and not only that, he was using some kind of cable or web to swing between buildings, and had chosen to take me along for the ride! Granted, he'd just saved my life so I wasn't about to complain but…

"Hey Spiderboy… mind putting me down?" I asked him in my most blasé tone.

"It's Spider-Man miss, and I'll put you down in a sec." He assured me.

As promised, a second later we were back at ground level, about two blocks away from where we'd been, away from most of the action.

"My name is Silbhé Salani, pleasure to meet you." I said, offering him my hand. "And thank you for saving my life back there."

"The pleasure is all mine, and you were doing a bit of life-saving yourself." He pointed out shaking my hand.

"Say, how come I hadn't heard about you?" I asked briefly.

"Unless you lived in the Queens and Midtown area you probably didn't hear." He said with a shrug. "And I'm fairly new to this superhero gig."

"No, I'm actually from New Mexico." I admitted with a shrug. "At least that's where I've lived for the last year…anyway, glad to see others helping."

"I do what I can." He sounded embarrassed, probably unused to praise. "I didn't think I would do too well against those alien-things, but I had to help so…"

"They're called Chitauri." I informed him, then I got an idea. "Say…that web-thing you use, can you create actual webs with it?"

"What do you have in mind?" He inquired.

"I was wondering if you would be able to create blockades of sorts, so the chitauri cannot get further than… 39th street." I remembered in the last moment the perimeter the Captain had told the policemen to form.

"I heard the police were trying to form a perimeter around that point." His mind seemed to be on the same frequency as mine. "I have never actually tried what you say, but I guess I could give it a try… I just hope I have enough biocable with me."

That made me realize something: the web wasn't natural but synthetic, I truly hoped he had enough, it would be a huge help to have something physical actually stopping the chitauri, or at least making it harder for them to get to other parts of New York.

"Any help you can be will be welcome." I assure him. "Now, we got jobs to do."

"I suppose I cannot ask you to look for a safe place?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not a chance!" I actually smiled at him before sprinting away.

A second later I watched him swing on another biocable, passing me before turning on a corner, going to begin on his webs.

Since the street before me was empty I decided to go a couple of blocks east before moving north again; however, I'd just turned the corner when I heard a voice loudly ordering people:

"This way please, this way!" The voice kept directing.

It was a female, a girl in fact, couldn't have been even eighteen years old; she had gray-green eyes and straight blonde hair in a tight ponytail, she was wearing a light denim knee-length skirt, a white and blue top along with a kaki trenchcoat and kaki high boots.

"Miss, you're going the wrong way." She told me even as she kept guiding a group of children who'd just gotten out of a nearby building, it looked like a school…

"I know which way I'm supposed to go." I told her.

With a sigh, the young woman said something to the kids and walked to me.

"There is a battle going on that way, miss…"

"Silbhé Salani." I interrupted her introducing myself.

"Gwen Stacy." She replied to the introduction. "It's dangerous for you to go that way."

As she said that she kept looking up or over her shoulder, as if searching for something…I cocked my head as I studied her for nearly half a minute as she did the same movements over and over again…and then I understood what was going on.

"I know your kind…" I couldn't help but whisper.

"Excuse me…" She seemed offended at my words. "My kind?"

"The human match of a super-human individual, the 'other-half' of a superhero…" I said in a low voice, careful we wouldn't be overheard.

"What do you know?" She asked suspiciously.

"I know you keep looking up, and the Avengers are too far away and you don't seem like the fangirl type, so you're not looking for them." I said flippantly. "No, you're trying to keep an eye on the boy with the spider-like abilities who's currently trying to create a barrier made of his web a couple of blocks away."

Gwen actually let out a breath at my words.

"How do you know all that?" The blonde inquired, interested.

"Because most of the time I'm like you." I admitted quietly.

"Most of the time…?" Gwen began.

She couldn't finish the question, right then we heard two of the people still evacuating the block scream, and when looking to the side we both saw why: three Chitauri seemed to have wandered away from the main group, and straight in our direction.

Gwen seemed to freeze in fright for half a second, then she began looking all around, as if trying to find some kind of weapon. I knew that wasn't necessary. Instead I just focused.

"Not today." I answered her unfinished question, calling her attention.

Focusing as hard as I could I move my hand forward harshly, palm open, as if pushing something with all my strength; with Loki's magic I managed to create a concussive wave that sent the chitauri flying until they hit other objects, with enough force to kill at least one and seriously injure the other two.

"What was that?" Gwen demanded, turning straight at me.

"Something my husband left me." I answered simply. "So, as you can see. I can handle myself. Now, I need to get going." I gave a handful of steps away before looking over my shoulder. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Gwen; hope next time it'll be under better circumstances. Good luck to both you and your match."

With that I began running north, searching for the Avengers. It was time to turn up the stakes and turn the tables on the enemy.

I reached the place where all of the Avengers seemed to be coming together right as Dr. Banner joined them. I arrived from a side, going to stand by the doctor, who seemed a bit awkward in the borrowed clothes; though I imagined that had more to do with his recent transformation.

"Hey Dr. Banner." I called as I stood beside him.

"Shouldn't you be helping the civilians?" Hawkeye asked, raising a brow.

"I've done all I can on that front." I said, shrugging. "By the way, there's another super-powered individual, a boy, goes by the name of Spider-Man. He's trying to create barriers of sorts so the Chitauri cannot go farther than 39th street."

"So that's what I saw!" I heard Iron-Man exclaim. "I saw someone decked in blue and red, doing something strange between two buildings. Now I know what it was. Will have to look that boy up later on. Whatever substance he was using was fascinating…"

"Be careful how you approach him Stark." I told him. "He's not you. I think he's the kind who actually likes to have a private life, and won't reveal his secret identity just because you ask."

There was no answer, but I wasn't really expecting one, so I ignored it.

"It's good to meet this side of you as well. Dr." I smiled at the man beside me.

"Ah, the Lady of the smile…" Bruce actually half smiled as he said that. "The Oth… Hulk seems to like you. Might I ask what you did exactly to achieve that?"

"Not threaten him, respect him, accept him." I enlisted calmly. "The way I see it, I might not understand what Hulk is all about. But screaming, or attacking him, certainly won't help. Also, Thor was intending to fight him, and I didn't even want to imagine the kind of destruction those two together could cause." I shivered slightly. "The bottom line is: I gave Hulk a chance, and he didn't hurt me. He actually protected me when some idiot somewhere thought it was a good idea to send a fighter jet to fire on us."

Banner just tried to shrug, though I could see he was still contemplating the words I'd said.

"Are you truly the Lady Nightingale?" Thor wanted to know.

"I truly am the Lady Nightingale." I answered calmly, letting him and everyone see both the deamarkonian and the tattooed claddagh. "I am your brother's match Thor." I raised a hand before he could begin some speech. "I know you have an idea of what your brother is all about, and I won't tell you, you're wrong but…you only know one side of the story Thor. Trust me when I say that I know who exactly Loki is, in and out. I've been as good as married to him for a year now, even if our union has barely been legal for a little over a week. I know he's not a saint, but neither is he the devil some may picture him as. Also, I am here to help save him as much as I'm here to help save the world."

For several painfully long seconds there was no reply, then I found myself in Thor's arms; it took me a second longer to understand he was embracing me, even if I didn't yet know why.

"If you truly manage to bring my brother back to me, my lady, the brother I used to know in years past…I will owe you more than I can ever express." He told me quietly.

"He's still that man Thor, he's never stopped being him, he just stopped showing that side of him, believing no one truly cared…" I shook my head slightly as a tear fell down my eye. "Learning about his heritage, the fact that the Allfather chose to keep it secret, and that he never gave him a good reason for that secret…that broke something inside Loki…" I sighed. "He's broken, but not destroyed, not fully. We can help him, together."

"I don't know what I can do." Thor said with obvious pain. "He hates me."

"No he doesn't, not truly." I told him. "It's just… you stopped trying to understand him, and he stopped trying to make people see the truth about him." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Things can still be set right Thor, if we all try, together…"

"We shall little sister, we shall." He assured me.

I could only smile brightly, Thor accepting me as his brother's wife, as his own sister…it gave me hope that we might actually be able to make things right…

We were brought out of our private moment by Iron-Man's voice over the comms.

"…I'm bringing the party to you." He sounded a bit rushed.

We saw the reason just a second later as he rounded the corner, flying at all speed, a leviathan almost on his heels.

"Oh for all the powers in the heavens…" I gasped when I watched.

"I don't see how that's a party." The Black Widow commented, stuttering slightly.

Bruce seemed almost resigned as he turned his back to us and began walking to meet the leviathan; I could sense the power as it began rippling right under his skin…

"Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry." The Captain said.

"That's my secret, Cap." The doctor commented, almost smiling. "I'm always angry."

It all happened in a matter of seconds. Bruce hulked out and punched the front of the leviathan; however, with the impulse the thing had, it began flipping over all of us. Iron-Man reacted firing a number of small missiles at it. When the explosions came Hawkeye slid to take cover behind some nearby cars, while the Cap tried to use his shield to protect himself and Romanoff as best he could. It looked like Thor wanted to shield me, but before he could, I shook my head at him, raised both hands, palms open and focused.

A shimmering shield materialized inches away from me. It didn't last long, but it was enough to keep us safe.

"Wha…?" Thor was obviously shocked at the display. "Loki?"

"A little gift from him, so I would be safe." I answered.

"You would be safe away from this." He pointed out.

"Maybe, doesn't change the fact that I'm here right now." I shrugged. "I wouldn't be happy if I'd been sent away. Just like I promise you Jane will be anything but happy when she finally gets back, Darcy too."

Thor nodded, if he knew for sure I was right, or was just accepting it for the time being, I did not know. In the end he was the one who would have to deal with Jane's moods.

We all stood there, our backs to each other. And if a corner of my mind thought that it was funny I was standing in a battle circle with the Avengers…particularly when my husband was the one leading the enemy…the rest of my mind refused to acknowledge the huge mess that my life seemed to have become in the last week (or years, depending on the opinion).

"Call it, Captain." Iron-Man deferred to the other man's authority.

"Alright, listen up." Captain America didn't doubt, just took charge. "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash… if you meet this Spider-Man the professor mentioned, we would love his assistance on this."

The two were about to leave when I raised my hand.

"Wait." I called before approaching Hawkeye. "I know that right now trusting me most likely goes against all your instincts. But I swear on my life…on my husband's life, I want to help you."

The last part of my oath seemed to convince him, for he allowed me to approach enough to lay a hand on his quiver as I closed my eyes and focused briefly.

"I cannot create something out of nothing." I said as way of explaining what I had done. "But with this whatever arrow you shoot that isn't destroyed will come back to you; if the damage is small enough they will be repaired too. It will allow you to fight longer."

"Thank you." He nodded.

"I'm afraid I have nothing for you." I told Iron-Man.

"That's just fine little lady, magic and I don't get along very well anyway." The man shrugged.

With that the two took their leave, Iron-Man giving Hawkeye a 'lift' to the tallest roof in the vicinity. From where he immediately began firing arrows. Iron-Man for his part shot off to another part of the neighborhood, probably to begin creating a perimeter while at the same time finding Spider-Man.

"Thor! You gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow 'em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up." The Captain continued giving orders, turning to the Hulk next. "Hulk, smash!"

Thor was gone almost immediately; and with Hulk the order was simple enough and completely in tune with what he wanted to do already, he was off right away.

"You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here." The Captain told the Black Widow, before finally turning to me. "And you professor…"

"Ehmm… this might be a good time to mention that I can close the portal… I think…" I admitted with an embarrassed hunch of my shoulders.

"You think?" Her eyes narrowed.

"No, I…" I took a deep breath, putting my thoughts in order. "I can close the portal, but only if certain conditions are met…well, one mainly. I need Loki's scepter."

At the Captain's and Widow's expression of disbelief I hurried to elaborate.

"I was with Loki during the last week, I spent a lot of time with Erik." I told them. "I made him build a little something into the machine that would open the portal, something that would allow it to be closed. However, to do that I need Loki's scepter…"

"And you think he'll just give it to you?" The Black Widow asked sarcastically.

"Does Loki know you did this?" The Captain asked at the same time.

"He knows I did something to sabotage the invasion, but not what." I answered him. "Plausible deniability and all that. And about him giving me the scepter… I'm fairly sure that he'll have left it at the Tower. I did tell him I would need it…"

"You're placing way too much trust on a psycho…" The Widow hissed.

"You mean like I've been placing a lot of trust on an assassin to have my back?" I retorted.

And it was that all through our conversation the battle hadn't stopped; truly, it would have been impossible and illogical for him to. And we had kept fighting… well, mostly them, I called warnings very now and then and created two concussive waves and one shield when necessary.

"I've known Loki far longer that I've known you, Black Widow." I told her. "I've trusted him my life for years! So yes, I know he will have left the scepter where I can use it to do my part."

"Even after what happened in the helicarrier?" The Captain asked.

I didn't answer that particular question, but he didn't seem to be expecting me to, anyway.

"Can you do it prof.?" Iron-Mask asked over the phone.

"I can." I answered, with more confidence than I truly felt.

What I failed to tell them was that it wasn't so much the scepter that I doubted; no, I trusted Loki implicitly. What I doubted was my ability to get where I needed to be. Because with my poor physical condition and the battle going on all around…there was only one way I could possibly get to Stark Tower in time and in one piece: teleporting…

"Before I go." I stated.

This time I didn't give any warning of what I was going to do before I did it. I just focused and then brushed my left hand over the Captain's shield, then over the Widow's hands, both of them.

"There." I stated, before turning to each. "Captain, the shield should come back to you now if you just focus. I don't think it'll be permanent, but the spell shall last a while at least. Widow, I recharged your bracelets, the charge is also higher than it was before. Like with Cap's shield, it won't last forever, but I hope it'll be good enough."

"That's what your bracelets are all about." The Widow practically blurted out right then. "I mean… that's why they're disappearing, right? They become the spells you use…"

"In a nutshell, yes." I nodded.

Harder spells required me using more than one bracelet at a time…but she didn't need to know that, no one did. Particularly since I was running low on them already…

"Do you have enough to do what you need to?" The Widow asked.

"Oh…is the Widow going soft on me?" I quipped dramatically.

The redhead just stared at me coldly.

"Very well then, I'll take my leave." I said flippantly, focusing as much as could on the terrace of Stark Tower. "Wish me luck."

I closed my eyes as I jumped, having experienced before how disorienting it was teleporting with my eyes opened. The abrupt change in surroundings was dizzying; and also, when I went through great distances, it was as if I flew through space at great speed…it could be nauseating.

What I didn't expect was how, when I snapped myself opened I found myself almost floating in the air. It was just a fraction of a second, but still. I had either miscalculated when calling on the teleportation, hadn't focused enough or been distracted by something in the last second; the thing is, I found myself on neither the terrace, nor the walkway Stark had fixed to help him put in and/or take off the Iron-Man suit. No, instead I was floating at some middle point.

It all happened in half a second at most. The instant I realized something was happening my arms snapped up and I managed to hold onto the edge of the walkway just in time. Still, hanging in such precarious place and position didn't help.

After a few seconds there, with my arms hurting because of the strain, I realized there really was only one possibility at that point, so sending a prayer I wouldn't get myself killed…I let go. I managed to twist just enough in the last second, landing on my side instead of my back. I ended with a bruised hip and shoulder, the ones corresponding to the side I fell on; still, it was much better than an injured back and possibly the head. The other problem was when my breath was knocked out of me harshly.

I don't know how long I laid there, on the terrace, gasping for breath. The battle was still going on, beneath me, around me, and I knew I needed to do my part to protect the earth, but I just couldn't find the strength to move for a long while…

Eventually I managed to roll onto my back, where I began taking deeper breaths. Then, it just happened that I turned to look on the opposite direction from the one I'd been laying on, my eyes laying on the one thing that brought back to the forefront of my mind, almost painfully, exactly what I needed to do: Loki's scepter… I had a portal to close.

It wasn't easy. It took effort, but after some tripping I managed to get back on my feet, taking hold of the scepter as I went. The sound of Hulk's roar, seemingly getting away from the Tower, made me stagger a bit; not because I was afraid of him, but because I suddenly began fearing I might have missed something, what the time I spent gathering my wits and getting my breath back might have cost everyone.

That prompted me to move as fast as I could (which wasn't very fast at all). I ignored the broken glass on the floor, stepping into Stark's sitting room, or what looked like one. I was halfway through it, already thinking on how I was supposed to get to the rooftop, when suddenly a mix of green and golden at my left caught my attention. When I saw what it was, I couldn't help the mix of shock and horror that overtook me.

"Oh Spirits!" I forgot everything in that second, instead dashing to the side. "Loki!"

I half slid, half knelt beside his unconscious form; barely managing in my panic to check him enough to realize he still had a pulse and was breathing.

"Oh thank the Spirits…" I gasped, sitting on my heels.

I caressed my love's hair a couple of times, watching his head cocking slightly, as if following my hand. I could have cried in that moment. For almost a minute I did nothing except sit there, watching my unconscious match, praying for him to be alright, wanting nothing but to stay by his side, care for him. And yet, as my eyes strayed just the slightest to my side, I laid them on the scepter I dropped when I got to my love. The scepter that reminded me the very important duty I had. The Chitauri needed to be stopped: and I needed to do my part in stopping them.

I closed my eyes tightly and, knowing I had to get moving before I lost my nerve, I placed a gentle kiss on my match's brow, took the scepter and got back on my feet, turning my back on the unconscious Loki as quickly as I could, focusing as best I could not to look back, not even once, I wouldn't have been able to go through with what I had to if I had looked at him laying there once more looking so…fragile, so lost…

"Stark!" I almost snapped into my ear piece. "Tell me how the hell I get to the roof!"

"Professor?" Stark asked through the comm.. "What is going on? Are you in the Tower?"

"Yes I am. And I need to know how to get to the rooftop to stop this mess once and for all." I said curtly. "Now, I've just had to see my husband laying on the ground, badly hurt and unconscious; I just had to see that, and leave him there! So you better tell me how to get this done before I decide to send the world to hell and stay with my match!"

"Loki is down?" Several voices asked at once.

"Yes!" I practically screamed into the comm. "Now focus people! I have a portal to close, and for that I need to get to the rooftop!"

"Get to the closest elevator, JARVIS will take care of the rest." Stark finally told me.

So I did as he said. The elevator doors opened on their own once I got close enough; then, as soon as I was in, JARVIS got us up, straight to the top. When I stepped onto the rooftop I could both see and sense the machine working.

"Silbhé?" A hoarse voice asked.

I turned slightly to see Erik, he was just waking up. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened, when he'd lost consciousness; but he seemed to no longer be under mind-control, or hurt.

"Hey Erik…" I greeted him half-absently.

Ignoring Erik's half-incoherent mumbles about the things he could and couldn't remember of the last few days, I went to stand in front of the machine, pointing the scepter straight at the spot where the Tesseract was located.

"Very well people." I called into the comm. "I'm here…I can close the portal."

"Do it!" I heard the Captain order.

"No, wait!" Iron-Man yelled the exact opposite.

"Stark, these things are still coming!" Captain America yelled over the comm. channel.

As if we couldn't all see that…

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute." Iron-Man announced grimly. "And I know just where to put it."

There were some words exchanged between Captain America and Iron-Man but I tuned them out. I, as everyone else, realized what it meant for Stark to be going with that nuke into the abyss… he was not my love, he was no Jotun/Titan… his chances of coming out alive weren't high, they weren't even low, they were practically non-existent. And still he was going. If nothing else, I could respect that.

May the Spirits guard you Anthony Stark… I whispered in my mind.

I had first row seat to watch Stark fly by, nuke on his back, as he used probably all the power left in his suit to push it away from its programmed path (which was Manhattan!) and into the dark still-open portal.

For a moment I wanted nothing more than to be able to use some magic to help him… but there was nothing I could do, for I had no more magic. I'd run out of bracelets (which, on hindsight, was another possible reason for my rather precarious 'landing' on the tower), there was nothing I could do to help, except what I was already prepared to do: close the portal.

I waited, we all did, for what seemed like forever… until we could all see the explosion as it took place inside the abyss.

"Come on Stark…" At least two different voices murmured into the comm.

"Close it." Captain America ordered.

I actually hesitated. Iron-Man meant nothing to me, and I wasn't stupid as to put the Earth at risk when I had already sacrificed so much to be there and be able to help and yet… it didn't seem fair, to just give up on a man who had just knowingly flown into the abyss, flown to his death. It didn't seem fair not to give him a chance to come out of it alive…

"Close it now Professor!" Captain America ordered with all his authority.

As the explosion kept growing, I knew that he was right, it had to be done. So I held the scepter tightly and then pushed it straight through the force-field protecting the machine. The mix of the scepter being connected to the Tesseract and my own connection to Loki made it quite easy to bypass the shield. In less than a handful of seconds the point of the scepter came in contact with the Tesseract and… it was like an explosion except that not quite.

The whole machine shuddered somehow as it cut the flow of energy, making the portal collapse in on itself. The shudder was such that it caused the scepter still in my hands to shake violently. It was just a handful of seconds but enough to fully lose control of it. I ended up thrown on my back, while the scepter fell at my feet. It wasn't really that bad except for how I hit the back of my head on the stone ground when I fell.

I only half noticed when Iron-Man passed the level I was on, falling (at least he hadn't stayed trapped in the abyss). Still, I didn't relax until I heard his voice once again through my earpiece. I didn't actually pay attention what it was he said, just knowing he was alive, that we all were alive, was a huge relief…

"We won…" Captain America whispered, obviously marveled.

Yeah, I was as shocked as him. I just hoped the civilians too were alright, and Gwen and Spider-Man too…the city was a mess, but as long as the people were fine there was hope.

For the second time in less than half an hour (in fact, I was quite sure the battle had lasted an hour at the very most, most likely not even that) I laid still, on my back, for a while as I got my breath back. My head hurt, though not as bad as the migraines I would get sometimes, which made it relatively easy to ignore it for the most part.

"Silbhé?" I heard Erik called as he approached.

"Hey Erik." With some effort I managed to sit up.

"Are you alright?" The man asked, obviously worried.

I brought a hand to the back of my head. I had a bump there and it hurt when I touched it, I also found my hand a bit sticky…which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as the bleeding wasn't too bad, it was better to bleed out than bleed in…or that's how I chose to see it.

"Some bumps and bruises, nothing life-threatening." I answered honestly.

Eventually I felt well enough to stand. My heart was beginning to pound, and my shoulder and hip were bothering me, but I ignored those aches as I focused on getting myself back to the penthouse level of the Tower…I needed to get back to my love.

"Hey Erik, think you can handle the Tesseract?" I asked him quietly. "And I mean that in the make-sure-no-one-else-gets-his-hands-on-it sense. I suppose you must have the equipment necessary somewhere around here. You can take it down to the penthouse level, I'm sure someone else will take over from there."

"You going already?" Erik inquired, looking at me carefully.

"I need to get down." I answered evasively.

"Look Silbhé, I don't know what's going on." Erik stated with a sigh. "In fact, I haven't the slightest idea how exactly you ended up involved in this mess, though I know I saw you a number of times during the last week… which shouldn't have been possible since Loki kidnapped me and then… he did something to my mind."

"Right." I sighed, thinking of how to say enough so he would calm down, yet not enough that he would try to stop me. "Look, it's a very long, complicated story. A lot of stuff went down in the last week, and for better or for worse you were a very important part of it. You were needed Erik… in more ways than you'll ever fully understand…"

"I was used to allow an alien army to invade the Earth!" He cried out, he was very upset.

I closed my eyes briefly, of all the people I'd met in New Mexico, Erik was the one I knew the least, he'd been called by Fury to work on a project so secret that none of us, not even Jane, knew a thing about it, early the previous fall. I only knew because of what Loki was doing even then… though I was sure Erik wouldn't like that part either!

"It was also in good part because of you that we managed to close the portal at the right time." I reminded him quietly.

"You told me to add that safety feature." Erik whispered, half-confused, half-awed. "Why? If you… if you truly were with… him. Why tell me to sabotage the machine?"

"It wasn't exactly sabotage. It was still going to work." I pointed out. "However, doing what I asked you to do would allow us to close it when we decided it was enough…" I shook my head. "Look, like I said already, it's all very complicated, and right now I really don't have time to explain. Once you've secured the Tesseract please bring it down. I promise you either I or someone else will explain everything to you then."

I didn't wait for him to ask any more questions, instead just walked (more like half-limped) to the elevator. JARVIS, thankfully, opened the doors to it immediately, getting it to move before I even had to say a word.

Somehow I ended up arriving to the penthouse after the Avengers did. I was going to approach them but the Captain stopped me with a look… apparently they had a plan to somewhat intimidate my love into staying put and I wasn't to interrupt them. The Black Widow took the scepter from me (which I wasn't fully sure when exactly I took it) and went to stand with the rest of the team, right as my love finally recovered consciousness.

I bit my lip as I watched him drag himself a bit until he reached the nearby steps that went to Stark's bar. Then he seemed to finally be able to sense he wasn't alone, for he slowly (painfully) rolled himself so he was half-laying half-sitting on the steps, looking up at the half dozen heroes suited up and glaring down at him.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." Loki declared as he tried, and failed, to be flippant about his situation.

"Oh you'll have a drink alright." I muttered, before finally moving. "Now, all of you, if you have finished your grand-standing, I would like to see after my husband."

No one said a thing, but Hulk and Thor still moved to the side, allowing me to pass, the rest didn't try to stop me and that was good enough. Loki, I noticed, was looking at me and the Avengers in turn with obvious shock, though I wasn't sure which shocked him the worst, the fact that I was there, or that the so-called heroes weren't trying to stop me. I ignored his searching expression, he was still keeping the bond blocked, wasn't he? Well, then he would have to ask the questions like a normal person!

Still without a word I smoothly dropped to my knees beside him, opening my jacket just enough to reach inside it and grasp the biggest of the two vials.

"Here." I said offering it to him. "You need this."

"Nightingale…" Loki began quietly.

"First drink that, then we'll talk." I interrupted him, placing the vial on his hand.

He still looked at me for the longest time, before finally uncorking the vial and drinking it all down in one swing.

"What happened?" Was the first thing he asked.

"We won." I repeated the Captain's words.

It hit me right then. We'd won…our plan had actually worked…We Won!

* * *

They won! And next week you'll be getting the finale of this version. Yep, it's up that fast. But, like I told you before, I did not plan to rewrite everything, just wanted to get some ideas out. If you like it you can always suggest ideas.

To be perfectly honest, the only reason I didn't write something like this in the original version of Nightingale is because i was trying to make the fic not-so-long... and it was easier to keep stock of everything when I didn't change too much of the original movies... in the end I couldn't help myself. So here it is.

See ya next week!


	3. The Aftermath

**The Aftermath **

There are battles of swords and there are those of words, for my love I would fight both…

Knowing I wasn't likely to be going anywhere anytime soon I sat on the floor, legs crossed, instead of kneeling. Then I unzipped my jacket completely and pulled it off, so I could take a lot at the serious bruise forming on my shoulder.

After a moment of contemplation I made up my mind, taking the half-full vial with the healing-stone powder from my jacket before laying it on the floor. My shoulder hurt and my head was pounding, and it was beginning to really bother me. I still needed to have a serious talk with my match, and aches would just get in the way, so I was going to use the powder. However, since I wasn't going to use it all myself, I made plans for the rest of it.

"Hey, among those of you Avengers who are closer to human than not…any of you have wounds they would like treated?" I asked out loud.

Surprisingly enough it was the Romanoff who approached me. Raising a brow questioningly once she crouched in front of me (pointedly ignoring Loki, who was sitting beside me).

"That the thing you used back on the helicarrier?" She asked, eyeing the vial.

"Exactly." I nodded. "Once I open the vial the powder will only retain its properties for a short time. I need some, but not all of it, so I thought you might want it. There probably won't be enough to completely erase your wounds, but it will certainly help."

"Sure, why not?" She shrugged. "It probably would help with Clint's slashes."

With that I uncorked the vial, pouring just enough on my head, directly on the bleeding bump. It itched a bit but I ignored it. I then poured just a bit more on my free palm, before passing the vial (which still had about a third or so of powder in it) to Romanoff.

I took some of the powder in my fingers, before rubbing it on my shoulder; then did it again with what remained of it, rubbing it on my hip. It was very little powder, but then again, the wounds were just bruises, not actual cuts, and certainly nothing as serious as what had happened (more like been done, but still) to Phil earlier.

We stayed there for what seemed like a while. More than one of the 'heroes' kept throwing looks our way but none of them said a word. Eventually Tony approached us, handing Loki a scotch and me a glass of cold tea. I raised a brow but still took it (granted, I was technically underage, not that I thought he would place much importance on that fact).

"Nightingale…" Loki began after what seemed like forever.

I directed my best glare at him over the rim of my glass…and considering I'd learnt it from him, it was a pretty good glare.

"You…are you…?" He didn't seem to know how to, or want to finish the question.

"Yes, I am angry at you." I answered him, placing the glass on the floor beside me. "Want to know why? It's not because of the helicarrier! No, it's because I spent the last hour praying to the heavens that you would survive this crazy battle… praying, instead of knowing, because you decided to be selfish and block our bond!" I was losing all composure and I didn't care. "So yeah Loki, I'm angry, I'm beyond angry, I'm furious. You could have died! And I wouldn't have known anything until I myself collapsed! You… you… we could both have died and I would have never gotten the chance to say goodbye!"

I haven't the slightest idea of how I managed to keep it together for as long as I did, but in that moment I just couldn't do it anymore. I had spent the last hour fighting for my life, for so many lives, in more than one way; doing my best to help everyone even while being absolutely terrified that I would never see my love again, that I might just drop dead any second and would never actually know anything had happened, then it would be too late…

I couldn't do it anymore, my body folded upon itself as I buried my head in my arms and began sobbing and crying almost hysterically. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then, suddenly, I was being pulled against a hard chest covered in dark leather and golden armor. I tried to push him, even to punch him, a few times, but my attempts were weak at best and we both knew it. In the end I was on Loki's lamp, face buried in his chest, holding onto him with all the strength I was capable of. And I didn't care that his clothes were dirty, or mine, or about how hard and cold his armor was. All I cared was that I was in his arms, finally.

"Oh my Nightingale…" He whispered into my hair.

I felt his fingers threading through my locks soothingly. I wasn't sure when exactly my hair had fallen from the twist I'd gotten it in when first boarding the quinjet to get to New York, but in that moment I didn't really care. I only cared about my love…

"You're here…" I whispered back. "You're with me…"

I kissed his collarbone, barely seen beneath his tunic; then went up, placing a series of kisses on his neck, chin, cheek, until finally I reached his mouth. When our mouths connected it was like a spark lighting up a bonfire…for several minutes I cared about nothing except him, me, us, our love, our bond…which snapped back into place right then.

I broke the kiss, gasping for breath. It was more than just the kiss, it was the bond. Suddenly feeling everything once again… love, and passion, and care, and fear, and hope and… it was perfect, absolutely perfect.

"I love you…" I whispered against his lips, before placing a short chaste kiss on his lips.

"As I love you…" He replied, repeating my motion.

We stopped the constant exchange of small kisses when we both heard the wolf-whistle behind us. I couldn't help it, my face went bright red and I hid it in Loki's chest.

"Oh, shut up Stark!" I cried out, though my voice came out muffled.

He began laughing, loudly at us; it only stopped when I heard a snap of fingers (Loki's) and then I heard Stark curse in some unknown language before a sound I recognize as that of a body hitting the floor abruptly interrupted his cursing.

Slowly I raised my head to look at my love, raising a brow questioningly. He just shrugged in return, though I could see the mirth dancing in his eyes. It was obvious he was the one to cause Stark to fall abruptly. Well, it's not like I was against it.

"Hey!" Stark exclaimed right then. "I'm being all nice and stuff. Taking you in, offering you drinks, keeping that bastard Fury away from you, and this is how you repay me?"

"Your own fault." I replied flippantly, kissing beneath my love's ear with a provocative smirk. "No one told you to interrupt our reunion…"

"People, if you're planning for this reunion to get any more heated…please get a room first." Stark stated in a scandalous tone. "I can even offer you one!"

"Yeah sure, what are the chances of there being cameras in those rooms?" I snapped as I finally looked at him over my shoulder. "I won't have you spying on me Stark!"

"You wound me, my lady." The millionaire called in a very dramatic tone. "I may be a deviant… but that's too much, even for me."

I nodded, recognizing his telling the truth. Instead, I chose to focus in something else he'd said.

"So Fury wants us then?" I asked.

I adjusted my position in my love's lap so I was sideways, a good enough position so I could still look at him, while at the same time being capable of keeping a conversation with the others in the room (most of whom were very pointedly looking away from us).

"I already told him you would be staying the night." Stark replied easily. "He didn't like it, but seems to be in enough trouble already, what with the nuke and all…"

"I still cannot believe someone… or most likely more than one someone, was cold-hearted enough to just send a nuke to Manhattan…" I whispered in a low voice. "I mean, what about all the civilians, all the innocents who were still in the island…?"

"What do you mean there was a nuke?" Loki asked, suddenly very alert.

"The World Council sent a nuclear missile to Manhattan when they decided that the chitauri were too big a threat and there was just no way we could handle it on our own." Stark answered in his most emotionless tone.

"You mean someone sent a bomb capable of destroying half of New York, killing thousands, probably tens of thousands of people, most of them innocent people, rather than stop and let those with the ability to handle the situation actually do it?" Loki asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much, yeah." Stark nodded with a small shrug.

"And I thought it was only the Aesir who had no regard for life aside from their own…sometimes not even their own…" Loki muttered under his breath.

"Easy my Maverick, calm down." I told him in my most soothing voice.

"I could kill them, you know?" He asked me, being dead-honest.

"I know." I admitted, as I caressed his hair slightly. "I also know you won't, because no matter how much they may deserve it, you're not a cold blooded killer. You're not them… you're better. You're a hero…"

"I think quite a number of people would disagree with that my Nightingale…" He whispered with a small smile, one that didn't reach his eyes.

"I don't care." I replied stubbornly. "You're my hero, have always been. And in many ways you are the hero of everyone whose lives you helped save today."

"So plan B worked then?" He asked then.

"For the most part." I sighed. "Some things didn't work exactly the way we planned them, but still, we managed. In the end the chitauri were defeated, the Titan remains in the abyss, the Avengers have assembled…I would say we did pretty good, all things considered."

"The helicarrier?" He asked.

So many questions implied in just those two words, and I got them all.

"Phil is alright." I assured him quietly. "I got there in time to save him. He'll be a bit weak for a few days, due to the blood loss, but he'll recover and be just fine in the end. I don't know how many people ended up dead… but we did the best we could, all of us." I shook my head, closing my eyes briefly. "It was you I was worried about the most. When you left so abruptly, and blocking the connection between us… I didn't know what to do."

"In how much trouble are you?" He inquired next.

"They all know we're married." I began enlisting. "Though Thor is the only one who might begin to understand the implications of it all. They know other things: like the barest of details of our past, of how you saved my life, how long we've known each other… nothing deep, though I do believe the time for that will come later."

"I wish you hadn't gotten involved in this." He whispered in a pained tone.

"I don't." I told him calmly. "I've said it time and again, and I'll keep saying it as many times as I need to: this is my choice, to stand by you. No matter what happens, I regret nothing."

He nodded, obviously not completely convinced, but still accepting the unchangeable situation.

**xXx**

Happy, Stark's personal driver, arrived to the penthouse at some point, carrying two bags full of take-out containers with something called shawarma. Apparently Stark was craving it, even though he had no idea what it was; and since he'd technically died and come back the others weren't very keen on saying no, besides, everyone was hungry. Loki and I were offered containers as well… in my opinion nothing was better than the little Italian place we would go to sometimes… but it still wasn't bad.

Eventually it was decided that we were all very tired, and since Fury wouldn't actually be paying a visit until the next day, Stark offered rooms for all of us to stay in. Loki's and I's was the last in our floor, which we shared with Banner and Thor (each in their own suites: small sitting room, bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet and even a balcony).

"Can you have JARVIS control our suite's door?" I asked Tony quietly as he lead us there.

"I suppose I could…" He scratched the back of his neck. "I could do a lot of things, JARVIS too. Which doesn't necessarily mean we do them, just…"

"Do it." I interrupted him.

"Of course…what…?" It took him a second to realize what I'd just said.

"I'm telling you to do it." I repeated. "Tell JARVIS to take control of the lock once we're inside; to lock us in if necessary. Then tell Fury, tell him it was precaution, your idea, whatever…"

"Why would I do that?" The millionaire seemed confused.

"Fury needs to believe he's in control, even if he isn't… especially when there's no way he could possibly be." I rolled my eyes slightly. "We need him to listen to us, truly. What Loki and I have to say to him is hard enough when dealing with people with an open mind… which he isn't, then there's his dislike of both my husband and I. If believing he can keep us locked in, that he has some form of control, makes him more willing to talk to us, more accepting of what we have to say, then it's worth it. Even if it's all just for show…"

"Just for show…" Tony repeated, brows rising so much they almost disappeared in his hair. "You mean there's nothing I could do to stop you?"

"Stark, we both know you're no idiot…" I began.

"I'm a genius, in fact." He interrupted me with a smirk.

"Right." I nodded dismissively. "The point is. I teleported half a dozen blocks northwest and over seventy floors up, from the midst of a battle and to your Tower, in a second, with nothing but borrowed magic… the last sliver of it, in fact. So, really, what do you think?"

"That we're indeed very lucky that your hubby decided to help save that world rather than to truly try and rule it." Stark deadpanned.

"Honestly, he would have never done that." I shook my head. "He hates the idea of being King. He loves doing things discreetly, under the table, behind the stage… that sort of thing."

"But everything he told Thor…" Stark seemed a tad confused.

"It was just an act." I half-smiled. "Loki said what Thor wanted to hear, or at least what we imagined Thor would expect Loki to say under such circumstances… particularly with what happened the last time those two met each other."

"I've heard about that." Stark nodded.

"All you've heard is one side of the story." I reminded him.

"And when will we get to hear the other half?" The millionaire was very interested in it all.

"Maybe tomorrow." I nodded, more to myself than to him. "Good night."

"Good night." He agreed.

I could actually sense as all kind of electronic locks activated right after the door closed behind me. I shrugged, hoping it would help.

"Love, the bath is ready." I heard Loki call from the bathroom.

"Oh, perfect…" I couldn't help but practically purr.

I had no idea what it was, but Loki seemed to always be capable of bringing out my more sensual side, sometimes without saying a word at all! The best part was that it wasn't something I had to fight, for he seemed to enjoy that part of me as much as everything else; just like I enjoyed every single part of him. Yep! We were perfectly matched. It was something that had always made me very proud. It didn't matter how different we might be, how different our origins, our histories and heritages; in the end we belonged with and to each other… we always would.

Also, a bath was just what I needed after everything that had happened in the last week, and particularly the last three days; and if my beloved was joining me…

I began pulling my clothes off the moment I stepped into the bathroom. Smiling as I saw my match already naked and inside the huge bathtub. I slipped off the last of my clothing before slipping inside, sitting on his lap. The moment our bare bodies came in contact with each other, in the warm water everything was absolutely perfect.

**xXx**

We woke the next morning to JARVIS's voice over some hidden speakers in the wall, telling us the time (just shy of nine a.m.), the temperature (fairly cool, clouded skies) and the fact that the Avengers were having breakfast and Startk was inviting us to join them at our discretion.

After considering it for a short time Loki and I decided we might as well. Loki summoned some clothes for me and some for himself. We showered (and only showered!) together and then got dressed. My husband ended up in charcoal gray slacks, a long-sleeved gray-green button up shirt, with the sleeves folded to leave most of his forearms bare and black leather shoes. I was in a ¾ sleeved, round-necked, white peasant blouse, light-washed denim skirt that reached just beneath my thighs, light-gray socks that reached my knees and white flats.

JARVIS opened the door to the suite, turning on a series of lights that guided us to the elevator, and then to the one of the common floors. The main kitchen was there, and all the Avengers were present at the time. Some drinking coffee, some tea. Dr. Banner was making some eggs, while Natasha sliced some fresh fruit; I immediately decided on the kind of breakfast I wanted.

"Pancakes?" I asked my love.

"Sure." He nodded. "I'll get your chocolate ready."

I just loved chocolate-milk, whether cold or hot depended on the weather. In that moment I could go for either, maybe more cold than hot.

"Anyone interested in some pancakes?" Since I was already going to make some, might as well extend the offer.

Almost everyone took me up on my offer. JARVIS easily directed me to the right pantries and the freezer for the necessary ingredients. In the past I had made them with chocolate, banana, red fruits, etc. In that moment I decided to go for the basic recipe. Considering that I was making them for a bunch of superheroes I aimed high. In minutes I had more pancakes stacked on two serving plates than I'd ever seen at once in my whole life…and yet when breakfast was over there were none left at all…

Eventually I finished making the pancakes and went to sit in the kitchen table, beside Loki; he'd placed a plate with four pancakes and a glass with cool chocolate-milk in front of me, as well as the jar of honey.

"So, you can cook." Stark commented as he devoured his own pancakes.

"Not really." I shrugged. "I mean, aside from this, pasta and some minor things I can't do much." I smiled impishly. "Just ask Loki."

My husband just rolled his eyes when they all turned to look at him.

"It doesn't help that you tend to forget that you even need to eat, much less cook." He pointed out in a deadpan tone. "I swear if I didn't visit every so often you would be undernourished."

I shrugged. It wasn't my fault that there were more important things in the world (at least as far as I was concerned) than eating.

"I still think these are great." Stark announced.

It was a surprise that we were all able to eat in peace…or maybe not. I honestly do not know. It was as if something had changed, but I just had no idea what or when.

With breakfast finished, the Avengers began moving to the living room, some carrying a second (or third or even fourth) cup of coffee, tea or even just water. I had a glass of water, something told me I would be doing a lot of talking… However, before we could actually get to the sitting room we were ambushed, so-to-speak, by two certain people I hadn't expected to see so soon.

"Silbhé!" They screamed at the same time.

I actually needed Loki to brace me before I ended up sprawled on the floor with my arms full of Jane and Darcy.

For a few seconds I heard nothing but babbling, not able to actually make out any words. Not until Jane raised her head enough to look behind me, at the person holding me (and pretty much them too) up. She screamed before pulling back in a hurry.

"What the hell is Loki doing here?!" She cried out in half-panic.

I sighed… I had forgotten to plan how exactly to explain that.

Darcy, on the other hand, had a quite different reaction. She let go of me, turned to Loki, before raising her hand and waving it at him:

"Hey Luka!" She actually smirked at him.

My love just couldn't hold back his mirth, he began laughing; I myself couldn't help but chuckle a little; though it was more at the entirely-too-innocent expression Darcy had pasted on her face, combined with the wide-eyed expression of everyone else in the room.

"Darcy…" Jane began, then did a double-take as the name finally registered. "Wait a second, Luka?" She turned to my love and I in turn. "You are Luka? You are dating Loki? Psychotic god of lies and mischief Loki?!"

"You knew?!" Erik and Phil yelled practically at the same time, though their question was aimed at Darcy and not I.

"I put two and two together." Darcy shrugged. "Been waiting for Silbhé to come out and say it."

"Yeah, because it would have been a wonderful idea to tell the people who saw Loki as nothing more than a crazy villain that I was as good as married to him…" I drawled.

"Hey!" Darcy cried out with a pout. "You were supposed to invite us to the wedding!"

Was that really the only thing bothering her? Thankfully I didn't need to ask the question:

"So, let's see if I got this right, you're not bothered by the fact that your friend's with Loki, God of Lies and Mischief…you're bothered by the fact that they did not invite you to the wedding?" Stark asked, voice heavy with a mix of confusion and sarcasm.

"Yes!" Darcy cried out petulantly.

I couldn't help myself, I dissolved into laughter. Truly, I had been worrying about so much, thinking of all the possible reactions everyone could have to the news of my relationship with Loki. And as great as I may think Jane is, most of the time she's just too far away, in her studies and experiments and even her memories… Darcy is my best friend!

"Oh Darce…" I embrace her as tightly as I can. "Please, please never change."

"I won't!" She giggled as she embraced me back.

"Darcy!" Jane almost whined. "You cannot just…just accept this!"

"Why not?" Darcy practically challenged her boss.

"Because it doesn't make sense!" Jane stated, as if it were obvious.

Loki, Darcy and I all dissolved into laughter yet again.

I was the first one to stop, when Jane's piercing glare reminded me that even if I didn't care for her as much as I did for Darcy, she was still my friend, I liked her and didn't want to lose her friendship. Also, I hoped she might be able to help me with Thor…

"Jane, you know as well as I that what makes sense to one person, or even a dozen or a hundred people; won't necessarily make the same sense to any other individual." I told her calmly.

"What sense should I be making of this situation then?" Jane asked, brow raised.

"Jane, dear, you're awesome, but you're also too into Thor." Darcy spoke before I could. "No offense to you big guy. Jane, you and I both know you would have never listened to a word Silbhé said if she had told us the man she was dating was Thor's brother…"

"Of course not!" Jane didn't even bother denying it. "After everything he's done!"

"Right…" Darcy abruptly spun around to face us. "I've been wondering about that. Why exactly did you do any of that?"

Loki seemed to freeze, something that didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

"What?" Darcy asked, confused by his attitude.

"You just surprised him Darce." I told her quietly. "No one before has ever bothered asking him that. No one ever has cared…" I surreptitiously brushed off a tear. "They see his actions as evil and think him evil as a consequence. No doubts, no checks…nothing."

I opened my eyes, not sure when exactly I'd closed them. What I could have never expected was the way every single pair of eyes was directed at me in that very moment.

*Well, you did always want to tell people things…* Loki reminded me inside our bond. *Now's your chance my Nightingale.*

Yes, it was my chance; and while it was true that I'd wanted to do that for a very long time, that I always said I would do it, and do it right…in that moment I just had no idea what to say…

"_Even when the words fail you, the facts are still the same…just speak from your heart and everything will be alright…It's what your mom always said…" _

Aunt Kathryn had told me that once; and the fact that it was a piece of advice originally imparted to her by my mom… it made it all the more special. I had to talk from my heart… well, there went nothing… I could only pray it would work…

"There's a saying, all of us History majors learn early in our studies: 'History is written by the winner'." I began as I closed my eyes briefly to focus in all that I wanted to say, that needed to be said. "That doesn't only apply to wars. You all know that Loki is the god of mischief and lies… and granted, the 'mischief' part of the title is more than earned, I know very well how much my match loves his jokes and pranks…but lies? The truth (no pun intended) is that everybody lies. Whether it is by omission, by accident, on purpose, whether the intention is to protect someone, to hide something, or anything else… we all lie."

"Really?" Natasha's brow raised. "Tell me one time you've lied. Something serious, and I'm not talking about you pretending to be under Loki's spell."

"How about lying to two of the best friends I've had in my life, for the whole time we've been friends?" I asked testily. "Because, no matter how you or I look at it, I lied when I told them Luka was my boyfriend. I lied when I gave them that name rather than his real one, lied when I told them we were just dating when it was already so much more serious…I lied when I didn't tell them what my life really was about. I never wanted to hurt them, I didn't lie to hurt them, or for any other negative reason; that doesn't change the fact I lied."

Natasha nodded, apparently I'd earned a bit of respect by proving I was being serious about what I was saying…and honest too. As I spoke I began gaining confidence, I still didn't have an actual plan on where I was going, I was just winging it.

"So… lets talk about lies." I stated. "Like I said already, I lied about that, also about being under Loki's spell, and by omission when I didn't tell you all everything I know right away… but then again, I'm not the only one who's at ease with lying, am I right Director?"

Fury stepped fully into the room at that.

"JARVIS?" Stark called, brow furrowed. "When did the Director arrive?"

"Shortly after Dr. Foster and Miss Lewis, sir." JARVIS replied over the intercom. "Agent Coulson and Agent Hill arrived with him. Since neither of them seemed to need your immediate attention and you were all paying attention to what Professor Salani was saying, I chose not to interrupt. I hope that was alright sir."

"Yes, yes." Stark shook his head slightly. "Just next time tell me JARVIS, doesn't matter what I'm doing or who I'm talking to. I wanna know when someone comes into the Tower, especially the living floors."

"Yes sir." JARVIS agreed before going quiet again.

"Why don't you take a seat Fury? And your Agents as well?" Stark offered with a signal to the empty armchairs and couches around the room.

The rest took the chance to take a seat as well. Only Loki and I remained standing: me because, being as small as I am, I thought my words would have a better impact if I was on my feet; and my love because he just refused to leave me on my own.

"Like I was saying." I went back to the main point. "Tell me Director Fury, what would you have told everyone else if I hadn't helped Coulson? And don't tell me that the truth, don't believe me so naïve. Phil might have been in critical condition, but I'm quite sure he wouldn't have died. And yet… that's exactly what you would have told your men, what you would have told the Avengers, isn't it? I can almost hear you saying the words 'Agent Coulson is down' or something along those lines. You might have even tried to use something material to drive the point home, maybe one of the collection items Phil has, particularly of Captain America… his cards maybe?"

Phil opened his mouth, eyes wide, in absolute shock; he was embarrassed that I was making his fanboy-attitude evident; but I'm almost sure he was even more horrified by the possibility of his boss doing something to those cards. Fury for his part acted like I hadn't said a thing, except for the slightest of twitches in the corner of his eye (Hey! I'm married to one of the best liars in the universe, and one who loves word-games, I need to be able to notice even the slightest details if I am to keep up with him). Aside from that, I could feel a light growl all around me, it was quite obvious no one liked hearing it; even though they all recognized the truth in my words.

"It was necessary for them to become a team." Fury stated, not even bothering trying to deny anything. "Isn't that what you yourself said Professor?"

"Yeah…" I shook my head in disbelief. "But it's one thing for someone they see as an enemy, or an outsider, to lie to them; but for one who's supposed to be their boss, their superior, to do that very thing… How are they supposed to trust you?" I didn't let him say anything before I went on. "And don't give me that bullshit about secret agencies, only trusting yourself, yadda, yadda… Truth is a team will only work well when the members of it trust each other absolutely, with not only their lives, but also the lives of the other members of the team, and every single innocent they're fighting to protect…" I sighed. "Phil has that kind of trust, that kind of faith. It's why he believed in the Avengers' Initiative; and why even now I believe him to be so important to this group. But you Director… you will never have their trust, because it's been proven that you do not trust them, at all…"

Once again, silence. No one agreed with me, but they didn't really need to, I was just putting on the table things they all knew already, probably even better than I; after all, I was only citing things happening in the last few days, and some of them had been around for years…

"Anyway." I waved off the tension, there was a lot more that needed to be said. "I'm sure all of you can think of a lot more instances when you have lied or been lied to. The point I'm trying to get to here, isn't the lies themselves, but their consequences. In my case, I lied to my friends about my relationship with Loki because it was a secret I didn't think they would be able to understand. Maybe they would have, maybe not, things are what they are. As for the lies when I went onto the helicarrier, they were all part of a carefully made plan, of which I've told most of you about. For those who don't know…the basics are these: Loki spent the last year doing his best to delay the Chitauri's invasion, giving you time to get ready to fight them. However, the Titan ran out of patience before we considered you were truly ready, something had to be done. So we put in practice 'Plan B', which had me being 'caught' with Loki in Germany. It got me into the helicarrier, where I would be able to give clues as to what was really going on, and then be ready to assist when the time came…Some things didn't quite go as they were supposed to, but since they could have gone much worse…I'll be thankful we're all alright." I shook my head. "Anyway, Loki's lies painted him as a villain, as we both knew they would. It was something we both accepted as necessary, as there was no one else who could do what he was doing and get away with it…for the most part."

"Why not ask for help?" Jane wanted to know.

"I had all the help I could need." He answered, looking pointedly at me.

"Yeah, because everyone would have been so willing to help him." I said, voice heavy with sarcasm. "Even without the mess in New Mexico last year everyone associates the name Loki with 'God of Lies' and evil. Truly, Norse mythology sometimes is more of a pain than it's a help; particularly with all the mistakes they make!"

"Mistakes?" Stark's brow raised, interested.

"A topic for another time." I said evasively. "Back to the main thing: lies and their consequences. There is one particular lie that has heavy bearing in all that's going, that has been going on, not since New Mexico, but long before… I'm talking about the Allfather lying, not just to Loki but to every single person, about my match's heritage."

"Nightingale…" Loki began, so caught off-guard we actually spoke out-loud, and unable to hide the hesitation in his voice or his eyes.

"They already know." I told him quietly but still out-loud.

He didn't need me to tell him who exactly had spoken:

"Thor…" He muttered in a cold, hard voice.

At least the blonde God of Thunder had the decency to look embarrassed.

"To be fair, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it." Thor tried to defend himself.

"Nothing wrong…" Loki repeated in disbelief that was quickly changing to fury. "Nothing wrong with it?! I am a Jotun! A Frost Giant! I am the stuff Aesir children's nightmares are made of! And you thought there was nothing wrong with revealing that to everyone else?!"

Darcy gasped, Phil's brow furrowed, and everyone else just watched the exchange in silence.

"Will you tell me I'm wrong? Them?" Loki challenged the blonde. "Why don't you tell your friends what exactly it was you used to say when we were children? Huh? What our bedtime stories were all about, and what you said every time one ended!"

There was an almost maniacal glint in his eyes, even as I was the only one to see how close he was to breaking. Closer than ever before… and that was saying something, considering how hard things had been since the revelation of his parentage the year before.

"Thor…" Jane asked quietly, when her boyfriend wouldn't say a word.

"Our father fought in the last Great War, the last interdimensional war." Thor began explaining.

"He's not my father!" Loki hissed. "Just like you're not my brother! When will that get through your thick head?!"

"Loki…" I whispered, taking hold of his face.

He was so out of control… the fight the previous day, and everything else that had happened in the last year, had truly taken a toll on him. It was so bad that he was actually turning blue, even if he hadn't noticed yet. A small mercy, I suppose, I didn't even want to imagine how he would react if he were to see himself turning Jotun against his own will; and then there were the reactions everyone else would have…

"It was a war between the Aesir and the Jotun." Thor went on, choosing not to fight Loki on the matter of family for the time being. "The Frost Giants were actually moving against Midgard… your Earth, and the Allfather lead Asgard's armies to protect your world. It all happened over a millennia ago, and it was the origin of a good deal of the myths of us there are around. When that war took place I was still an infant; but still, throughout my childhood, our childhood, most of the stories our… the Allfather would tell us concerned that war, and our warriors' valiant actions during it. I… I used to say that one day I would be just like my father…that I would slaughter all the Frost Giants…"

It looked like Darcy was close to screaming at that point, though she placed both hands over her mouth and only a keen gasp came out. Jane for her part was all open-mouthed, wide-eyed, looking at her love as if she'd never seen him before. The rest just watched the developments in absolute silence, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"I told you that in my youth I courted war." Thor went on. "That was true… in so many ways. I did not understand why my father had changed so much. Always talking about peace and such. It didn't fit the stories he'd told us during our childhood… and then it got worse." He closed his eyes, shaking his head in obvious denial. "So much worse…" He turned to my love. "It is true that none of us every thought to ask for your reasons… well, I'm doing so now. What happened last year, with my failed coronation and… everything else? I know it was you, from the very beginning, from the very first Jotun that managed to slip into Asgard. Why did you do it?"

"Honestly?" Loki asked, then laughed at his own word. "As if you could ever believe a word I say, regardless of how truthful I might be."

"I want to believe." Thor told him almost eagerly. "I want to trust. Help me do it. Regardless of heritage, or name, you're still my brother, you will always be my brother. Remember what you said that day, before I was supposed to be crowned?"

"_Sometimes I'm envious, but never forget that I love you…" _

I heard those words directly in my mind, from Loki's own. He'd said that to Thor on that day, the day when Thor's coronation was supposed to take place.

*It's up to you.* I told him inside our bond. *You know that no matter what happens here, I'll always stand with you. We're together, we're a match and that's forever. But I also know you love Thor, no matter what may have happened, what may be said. He's your brother, no matter if you don't share the same blood, or are of the same race. He's your brother, always has been, always will be. When Odin adopted you, he made you family. He may have made a lot of mistakes along the way, some I myself am pretty angry about. But I honestly believe that, whatever his plans might have been, he wouldn't have taken you in if he didn't want you for a son. This is your chance to begin getting that family back my love, take it.*

It took a few very long seconds, but eventually Loki nodded and stepped forward.

"When we were children ou… the Allfather used to say that even though only one of us could inherit the throne, we were both born to rule." Loki began, mostly talking to Thor, but knowing everyone was listening. "Back then I didn't understand the dark secret hidden in his words… For those who do not know this, I not only am a Jotun, I am the oldest son of Laufey, the former King of Jotunheim. Seeing as how I'm a runt (at least for that race) I would have never been much, still, in some ways I'm still considered the rightful heir to Jotunheim's throne." He seemed pensive for a bit. "Not sure who actually took the throne after I murdered Laufey… haven't been around there since the madness last year."

"You killed Laufey?" Phil asked, confused. "Why?"

"That's part of this awesome story!" Loki exclaimed with false cheer. "Now, it all begins a long time ago… I'm not quite sure when it happened, I just know I realized I would never inherit the throne since I was still quite young. I was a Sorcerer, the best in all of Asgard, from a very young age, I was a tactician, a scholar, a diplomat… and yet all most people saw was a prankster, a 'Liesmith', no one believed I deserved to one day be King. No one trusted me with the task. Granted, it's not like I actually wanted to be King. No, what I wanted is for people to believe I could do it, that I could be a good King, a good Asgardian, a good son… Anyway, even after all the mess that came, that never happened, so…" He shook his head. "I knew the throne would never be mine and yet, at the same time, I knew you just weren't ready for it Thor. You were too immature, reckless, wild… too dangerous. I was sure your desire for war would bring it upon us before long if the crown ever was yours. And while most of Asgard might believe battle to be a glorious thing, and dying as a warrior to be perfection… I do not share such beliefs. Granted, it took a long time to begin adjusting to the beliefs others, like my match, hold of all life being sacred… but still. The bottom line is, I didn't believe you to be ready to be King."

"Why didn't you tell someone this?" Darcy asked, confused.

"Who?" Loki asked, the beginnings of self-loathing evident in his voice. "Thor is the apple of Odin's eye; as far as he's concerned, his 'golden son' can do no wrong. Heimdall has never trusted me, not with my ability to travel the Shadow Paths and conceal myself from his sight… that and I'm quite sure he knew the truth about my heritage all along, and judged me for it. The Court sees me as nothing more than the 'Liesmith', 'Silver Tongue', they also call me. If I had said anything about not believing Thor to be ready for the throne they would have said it was all part of some ploy to get the throne for myself…"

"But that did happen." Jane pointed out. "You became King."

"Things didn't go as planned." Loki admitted. "They were never supposed to be that way." He took a deep breath, before finally diving straight into the story. "I knew Thor wasn't ready to be King, and I also knew no one would believe me if I told them, so I created a plan to delay his coronation. I let a small group of Jotun into Asgard; their aim was to get the Casket of Ancient Winters; an old relic originally from Jotunheim, which Odin laid claim to at the end of their war. I let them in, knowing they would never get it. Some of the best guards were posted outside the vault, and even if they failed, the Destroyer was a final safety measure. I didn't actually expect those guards to end up killed, I admit; I believed them to be better, if not enough to take down the Jotun, at least good enough not to die… In the end the Destroyer stopped the Jotun and things were alright on that end. With us. the Allfather became aware of what was going on right before the coronation ceremony could be finalized. As both he and Thor became aware of what had happened, Thor reacted exactly as I knew he would… violent, hungry for bloodshed and war. That was what I'd been planning. For Odin to see that, realize the kind of danger Thor truly was, the danger he would pose on the throne of Asgard…" He took a deep breath before continuing. "I stuck around afterwards because I knew things wouldn't end there, they couldn't. I was already expecting it when Thor had the idiotic plan to go to Jotunheim ourselves. Then, I discreetly informed a guard of what was going on. That was maybe my first mistake, trusting someone with something I should have done myself. And that wasn't all, Heimdall… I was planning on making a huge show of 'trying to convince him' of letting us through to Jotunheim, I didn't get to say even five words. He shouldn't have let us through at all! He went again the Allfather's express orders! Has anyone thought about that? But no! I'm the one acting against the law."

"Heimdall sees so much, and has so much power…or at least he used to until the Bifrost was destroyed." I pointed out quietly. "I think it's become a problem. All the power and apparent omniscience has gotten to his head, so to speak. If our suspicions are true, that he knew all about Loki's heritage and judged him by it, particularly at a time when even my husband was ignorant about it all… Heimdall never gave him a chance."

"That's discrimination." Darcy said, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "And unfair!"

"Life's not fair, get on with the program." Natasha almost snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that." Darcy drawled. "But they are right on one thing. Why is it that all his faults are pointed out, almost with fluorescent signs even, and yet others' are ignored? That goes beyond life being unfair, that's… it's… it's like supernatural bullying!"

Loki actually snickered at that, something I truly enjoyed, as my love had been too morose since beginning his explanation on what had really happened the previous year.

"So we went to Jotunheim, and that's when things really began getting out of control." Loki admitted. "While I didn't exactly want us to go there, I'd known it was a possibility, and so once we got there I began planning accordingly." He turned to Thor. "Then you had to go and provoke a fight! I mean, I understand anger and all that, but to let a stupid taunt from that bastard Laufey push you into a fight like that?! You had to have known there was no way we could have won! Just… no way! We were far outnumbered, even all my magic wouldn't have been enough to get all of us out of there alive. Hell! Even when the Allfather arrived relatively quickly, you saw what happened to your friends, Fandral and Volstagg…"

Thor could only lower his head, ashamed.

"What happened?" Hill wanted to know.

Loki muttered something incoherent, not wanting to go into details, we were getting to a point of the story he really did not like…

"One was speared through by one of the Jotun, the other got an ice-burn, to call it something." I clarified in a low voice.

"You know that?" Several of those present turned to me in surprise.

"I know every single thing that happened in those days." I answered calmly. "I've seen it through Loki's own eyes. Which also means I understand why he did the things he did, and why certain things happened this way… and when things went so wrong without him wanting them to."

"You know it is dangerous for one like us to be sharing his mind with a human." Thor reminded Loki in a very serious tone.

"You forget that she's not like any other human." Loki retorted.

"I already have a death sentence imprinted in my very blood." I reminded them all in a grim tone. "I have leukemia. As far as the doctors and modern medicine are concerned, I should have died when I was fourteen, but I didn't… in no small part thanks to Loki."

"He healed you?" Pepper (another whom I had no idea when she arrived, but she was there) asked, wide eyed in surprise.

"No." I shook my head. "The Cancer is still in my blood. This…" I willed the deamarkonian to become visible to all. "This bracelet is one half of a deamarkonian, something that used to exist only in science-fiction, in a book I was reading back when the Cancer came back, in fact. Loki created them, he has the other half. The bracelets give me energy, which fights off the Cancer; that's pretty much it in a nutshell. It's not enough to heal me, but enough so the cancer doesn't do me in… that is, as long as I keep wearing it."

"You depend completely on him…" Natasha gasped, and for the expression in her face, it was obvious she hadn't planned on saying that out-loud.

"Completely and absolutely." I answered calmly and with a certain degree of pride. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. My trust in Loki is total and unconditional."

For a few seconds the silence allowed them all to contemplate what I'd said.

"Back to what you were saying before." Jane finally spoke. "If you had made plans and all that. How then did Thor end up exiled and you on the throne when you say that wasn't the plan?"

"After the Allfather got us back to Asgard he sent Sif and the Warriors Three to the healers." Loki explained. "Then he began berating us on what had happened. Mainly Thor. Asgard was on the edge of a war because of stupid decisions on his part… I knew Odin would be angry, I knew he would scold, probably yell, there was even the slight chance that Thor would end up punished; at least in my mind. I never expected him to take that punishment as far as he did in the end… By the time I realized what was going on it was too late to do anything about it. Thor had been made mortal and sent into Midgard, alone."

"How could you not notice something was off before it all happened?" Phil asked, confused. "If you're as great a tactician as you first seemed…"

"I was a bit… preoccupied at the time." Loki admitted after a few seconds. "I had been touched by one of the Frost Giants back in Jotunheim, except that instead of finding myself burnt… my arm began turning blue… I thought I was cursed…"

I knew he was half lost in the memories by that point, otherwise Loki would have never revealed anything like that, never said something that made him vulnerable in the slightest…

"When I finally talked about that with my… with Odin… it didn't go well." He admitted quietly. "Getting the same reaction when touching the Casket of Ancient Winters confirmed what I already knew deep down, I was a Jotun… as far as Asgard was concerned, I was a monster." He shook his head. "I demanded an explanation. Why had he lied to me? What purpose did my kidnapping have? I was a weapon, nothing more than another relic… and one that was never to be used, for he'd changed his mind at some point. He spouted some tale about making peace for the two realms… but he must have known I would never truly be heir to Jotunheim's throne, not when I was taken away and certainly not being a runt. What was the point then? What's the point of a weapon when it's already been decided you shall never use it? We argued, and eventually he collapsed. Turns out he'd been postponing going into Odinsleep for too long. And yet…"

Loki didn't say anymore, but suddenly we didn't need him to.

"_You know, it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years, because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!" _

We all heard it, those words, in Loki's voice, and I had no idea how. One second I wanted, no, needed them to understand, to comprehend how deeply my love had been hurt that day, by that secret, that lie… and suddenly we were all hearing Loki's voice, the very thing he'd said to Odin that day, as if we were hearing some sort of recording.

And yet, no one actually focused on the strangeness of the situation, no one but Loki himself at least. No, the others seemed to be more focused on the actual words that had been said.

"Brother…" Thor began, in a quiet, mournful tone.

It was obvious that before that moment he hadn't understood. There was a lot he still didn't get. But he was beginning to, and that was something.

"Everything after that was a mess." I took over, knowing Loki wouldn't want to say anymore. "Thor was human and exiled; Lord Odin was asleep, and rumors were going around that he might not wake up; Lady Frigg sat dutifully by her husband's bed; and in the process Loki was left all alone, with a throne he never wanted and, more importantly, one no one trusted him with." I shook my head. "He had no support whatsoever, no one who believed in him. Because his father was in a coma, his mother was too worried about her match, his brother had been stupid and got himself exiled… and I'm a human and cannot even set foot on Asgard!"

It felt good, letting that out, all my frustration at not having been there for him when he needed me the most… at least that was one mistake I wouldn't be repeating ever again.

*I'm here my Nightingale…* He said, mental voice thick with emotion. *And so are you. We're together and we won't be separated again.*

*Never again.* I agreed.

For a second we both stood there, breathless, as we could feel a spiral of power twirl around us, before settling in place. I did not understand. Had another bond just formed between us? Why right then? And why had we… I felt it, when I'd never noticed the other ones forming. I could see them afterwards, when I called on them, but never before had I felt one such bond forming.

"The rest of that week was one mess after another." Loki stated stiffly. "When I talked to Mother she was sure F… the Allfather had a plan when he exiled Thor. It was then that I realized there must be a reason why he'd sent Mjolnir too. So I went to Midgard to see Thor, try and hint at what he needed to do. But it was like he didn't even care! He was too busy playing house with…" He turned to Jane abruptly. "With you! I needed my brother to back me up, and he was too busy with you!"

Jane looked first affronted, then embarrassed. Thor himself looked pretty ashamed. However, Loki refused to give either of them the chance to apologize or say anything at all, instead moving on to what had happened next.

"I went to Jotunheim too." Loki went on. "I had to fix Thor's mess… again. However, Laufey was a bastard, he refused to talk about a treaty. So I did the only thing I could think of. I lied. I offered him exactly what he wanted: a chance to kill Odin, in exchange for his signing of a peace treaty. I never planned on him living long after his signature was on the paper." He shook his head. "It was underhanded, even for me, I'll admit. But it was the only way to stop war from coming to Asgard at that point!"

"You were a King." Stark pointed out with unexpected understanding. "It's the king's duty to make the difficult decisions. Particularly those their subjects would never understand, much less accept, yet are keeping them all safe…"

Loki could only nod in silence, surprised by the understanding he was getting from the pseudo-hero and millionaire.

"I always knew Sif and the Warriors Three would have a hard time following my orders, they've never trusted me." Loki went on with the story. "I was even expecting their betrayal up to a point. However, what I never expected was for Heimdall to become a traitor as well." He brushed his finger in his hair in a gesture of impatience. "So many things that weren't going according to plan… and I had believed myself a great tactician!"

"So you sent the Destroyer against Sif and the Warriors." Thor commented, seemingly confused as he tried to fit the things he thought he knew, with the reality being presented to him.

They all were in the same situation apparently.

"To be specific, I gave the Destroyer the order to cause great material damage and to delay your return as long as possible." Loki qualified. "Neither the Warriors Three nor Sif had the power necessary to take the Destroyer down. Only you did, and then only at full power. The way I saw it, if you truly wanted to get back to Asgard you would need to get your powers back to take down the Destroyer and then come. So… it was a win-win situation."

"If you needed Thor so much, why not revoke his exile?" Jane wanted to know.

I heard Loki cursing Jane in a low voice but, thankfully, no one else did. In the end, he didn't have to defend his actions, someone else did.

"He couldn't go against the orders given by his predecessor." It was Phil. "It's really mere logic Jane. If his first action as King had been to revoke Odin's last, it would have made it seem like he was trying to undermine his father. Also, those more loyal to Odin than to Loki would have seen it as an insult, giving him even less support than they did… which was already pretty low. No, the only way for Thor to return was to fulfill Odin's requirements. In a way, Loki was trying to help Thor do exactly that." He flinched slightly at the admittance. "It might not have been the best of plans, but I doubt he'd much choice."

"I had none." Loki qualified. "I also froze Heimdall, being careful not to kill him, to delay the return as long as possible. I needed them not to get back until I'd settled things with the Jotun, and dealt with Laufey…" He shook his head. "Heimdall made me late, I ended having to stop Laufey inside the Allfather's private chambers… Mother got hurt because of my lateness, and still I almost didn't get there in time."

"_And your death came by the son of Odin!" _

Once again it was Loki's voice, something he'd said in the time he was speaking of. Words that would have held little significance most of the time, but in that moment meant a lot; especially coming from someone who'd spent the whole day very carefully evading calling Odin his father in any way, shape or form.

Loki and I just turned to look at each other, we still didn't know what was going, how it was happening, or even why. In any case, it seemed almost too convenient…

*I do not like this…* He muttered into our bond.

*We cannot stop now love.* I reminded him softly. *This might be our only chance to get the truth out. We cannot let it pass us by…*

He knew I was right, didn't make things any easier though. He still didn't like revealing so much of himself to people who didn't have his trust, they weren't his friends, not even his allies. They could hurt as much as they could help with all the information he… we, were giving them. And yet, it was a chance we needed to take if we had any hope for the future, for our future…

"I arrived about that point." Thor commented abruptly.

"It all went to hell right then." Loki said immediately afterwards. "And I'm not joking. You allowed your stupid little friends to poison you against me. Trusted them more than me, your own brother and… things just went insane after that."

Yes, he'd gone a little insane right about that point, or maybe more than just a little. Tried to destroy a realm, even knowing the kind of sin it was. He'd just run out of hope: hope that someone would trust him, believe in him… accept him.

Loki just couldn't go on after that. He'd already admitted to so much…it should be enough.

"I will say the rest." Thor declared. "We fought. We each said some things… I realize now that Loki was trying to provoke me. It's just… you were forcing us to fight, yet you weren't really trying. I didn't see it then, but I do now. It was like…"

Thor just shook his head, not daring to finish the thought out loud. Still, I didn't need him to finish, I knew, I'd seen it through Loki's eyes, had even been able to see the subtleties Loki himself had missed in the midst of his breakdown.

"Like he was trying to provoke you into killing him." I finished for him, fighting to hold my emotions back. "Don't you see it Thor? The answer has been there all along, the one thing Loki has always wanted… You said it yourself, how when you were a child you spoke about being like your father, being a warrior and…"

I left the sentence open, waiting for it to dawn on him. I could see the moment it did, the shadow that settled in his eyes. Still, he didn't dare say anything, however, that didn't stop someone else from doing so.

"Slaying all the Frost Giants." Darcy finished for me, gasping loudly as she realized the rest. "And that included him…"

"You wanted him to kill you?!" Jane cried out.

There was such pain in Loki's eyes, in that moment I truly wanted to yell at Jane to shut up.

"_I never wanted the throne, I only ever wanted to be your equal!" _

Suddenly it just was too much. I realized what was about to happen a fraction of a second before it did, barely managing to throw myself at Loki, hanging tightly onto him, an instant before we both disappeared into the Shadow Paths.

**xXx**

The first thing I was aware of when I woke up was the soreness, an ache in very specific parts of my body that easily reminded me of what had happened. Not like I needed the reminder, my memory on its own was pretty good.

We didn't stay in the Shadow Plane after we left the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents. No, we left it almost right away, appearing back in our assigned quarters, in the exact same position we'd been when leaving the sitting room. Which was pretty much the reason why we ended falling down (somehow ending up on the bed instead of the floor), me on top of Loki.

For a handful of seconds nothing happened and then… it was like a dam breaking. Loki pulled my face to his and began kissing me as if his life depended on it. Mid-kiss I half-noticed his body temperature going down drastically. I knew what it meant, even if I'd only seen him as a Jotun once, when he'd revealed to me the truth about his heritage (the truth he himself had discovered just a month prior), I still knew.

When he became aware of his change he'd tried to push me away, to get away himself, but I am stubborn, I held onto him and refused to let go.

"You promised we wouldn't be separated again… never again." I reminded him.

When I got bold and initiated the next kiss, it was like releasing some kind of force I didn't know he'd been holding back. Abruptly my clothes were gone, and so were his. Making love with him in Jotun form was different than when he was Aesir, because his significantly colder body caused different reactions to me than his warm one. It's not like one form was better, or worse, or anything; it was just different.

Still drowsy I extended my hand, after a few seconds managing to find my love. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants, and nothing else, sitting up on the bed, back against the headboard. When my wandering hand found his arm, and then his chest, I noticed his skin was warm. I didn't even need to open my eyes to know he'd gone back to his Aesir form.

"You didn't have to change back, you know?" I told him softly.

I stretched a bit, still laying on my side, before finally opening my eyes and looking up at him.

"I like you just fine whether you're white or blue… Aesir or Jotun." I assured him calmly. "I married you Loki, not a name, or a race, or a realm. I will never care about such details."

"I know." He replied, not quite looking at me.

"You know, up there." I signaled to his head, since I couldn't actually reach it. "But do you know… in here?" I sat up just enough to place my open palm on his chest, right over his heart.

"Some days I do…others I feel like I just cannot be sure…" He admitted quietly.

He was being honest with me, and that was something I appreciated; even if his answer wasn't what I would have liked to hear.

"Well, some days is better than not at all." I shrugged, resting my head on his chest, over his heart. "I will convince you for good, eventually."

"It might take a long time…" He whispered, burying his face in my hair.

"I will do what I can." I assured him quietly. "I am not immortal Loki, and I cannot change that. But however long my life might be, I swear I will always be by your side."

"I know you will." He nodded.

He trusted me that much, and that was definitely better than how things had been once upon a time; back when he trusted no one, not even… no, especially not, himself. It was awful really, to see such a bright soul be suffocated by such shadows, some caused by others, some by himself; and yet, I would never give up on him. I couldn't, I just love him too much. Now all I had to do is find a way to make sure I would live at least long enough to be sure he would be alright, even when I had to eventually leave him…

"Don't think like that my Nightingale…" He whispered softly.

He took hold of my face, softly pulling me up enough to kiss me in the mouth. Then, as I mostly lost myself in the kiss, I thought I heard something, but couldn't be sure, it almost sounded like:

"I'll find a way to keep you with me, my love, forever…"

**xXx**

Thankfully, we didn't have to see anyone for the rest of the day. We missed the late lunch, sleeping after we'd made love. But at some point after we woke up JARVIS had told us there was a bag with take-out just outside our door. It turned out to be Italian, according to JARVIS Stark had gotten all the info S.H.I.E.L.D. had on us, including the fact that we frequented Italian restaurants, so they had ordered some for dinner.

After our private dinner Loki and I made love again and then we fell asleep. Well…he fell asleep. I couldn't. I was just too worried about everything going on.

With some effort I managed to slip out of the bed without waking my love, put on my underwear and a robe, forgoing night clothes (which I wasn't actually sure I had in the Tower in the first place, the robe was surprising enough). I padded out of the bedroom and, after a surprise, outside of the suite.

While I at first wasn't sure what to do, in the end I walked to the small kitchen on that floor, got myself a hot chocolate, and then made my way to the balcony; where I sat in a swing-armchair, curling up slightly, with the cup of cocoa in my hands. It was nothing like my window-seat back home, mainly because the view wasn't the same (the city of New York was nothing like my garden, certainly).

I'm not sure how long I was out there, I must have been about halfway or so through my cocoa, when I noticed another presence on the balcony.

"Hey Thor…" I greeted him quietly.

"What brings you out here so late at night, sister-mine?" The blonde asked as he sat on a chair.

"I couldn't sleep." I answered softly. "I'm too stressed out to rest."

"What bothers you so?" He inquired.

"Isn't it obvious?" I closed my eyes so he couldn't see the pain I was sure would show in them. "I dread the morning. You will be taking Loki back to Asgard, and while I know that's necessary, I cannot help but fear that if he leaves with you he'll never come back. I have this fear inside me Thor… if you take my husband away tomorrow… I'll never see him again…"

"What if you came with us?"

The question was so abrupt, so unexpected, that I couldn't help but drop the cup in my hands as I stopped abruptly the swinging I'd been doing. Thankfully it was empty, though the cup still ended up in pieces. Not that I cared that much at the moment, I was more focused in other things like… had Thor really just suggested that I go with him and Loki to Asgard?!

"Are you serious?" I asked him, my voice failing me as my throat began closing with emotion. "But… but myth says… I… I-I-I am mortal! And mortals cannot set foot in Asgard."

"There are exceptions to every rule." Thor pointed out, then turned more serious as he added. "You have been calling Loki your match all along… I wonder if you truly know what it means."

"I know." I nodded. "It means we're bound. The laws of this world might say we've been married for almost two weeks, but the truth is a bit more complicated than that. We went through the rites almost a year ago, when we made our marriage vows, so to speak. And yet… I'm quite sure our bonds had already begun to form before that; and I'm not only talking about the deamarkonian. I am talking about honest soul-bonds…" I showed him my Nightingale pendant. "This was my consort-gift. He had it made by craftsmen in Asgard and is laced with many spells, especially protection ones. I at first didn't know about the gifts, but when I found out I had a pendant made for him too, he wears it all the time beneath his tunic: it's a gold locket with heart made of Celtic knots engraved –part of my heritage-; inside it was a picture of me as well as a chip, a small piece of technology, that reproduces a melody in flute, one I played myself. And that's not all." I raised my right hand, showing him my tattoo-ring. "You may or may not know this, but here on Midgard there is the tradition of wedding-bands when a couple marries. We didn't believe normal rings to be enough, so we got these tattoos. The design is what's known as a claddagh ring, it's part of an old tradition, from my mother's people. The arms symbolize friendship, the heart symbolizes love, and the crown, loyalty." I smiled "Because that's what our union is about: friendship, love and loyalty…"

"They are lovely traditions." Thor assured me. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

"You said there are exceptions to every rule." I pointed out quietly. "Then you mentioned us being a match. What were you talking about, exactly?"

"It is true that mortals cannot be on Asgard without express invitation from the Allfather himself, and as much as I would like to help on that front, there's no way I would be able to get you an invitation in time." Thor explained. "Also, the exact wording of that rule isn't so much 'not setting foot on Asgard' as 'not setting eyes'… and then there's the fact that if you're bound to Loki… then different rules must apply. You're a part of him, as he's a part of you, which means that, in the strictest sense of the word, you're not completely human anymore…"

I vaguely thought that my love would have a stroke if he ever heard Thor like that. The elaborate plan, the games of words… it was shocking and, I was quite sure, unprecedented.

"Tell me what I need to do." I told him, as seriously as I could.

We ended up talking until late into the night. However, in the end it was all worth it.

**xXx**

The next morning when Loki and I stepped out of our assigned quarters he was back in his Asgardian tunic and leathers as well as the light armor. I was in a sky blue, sleeveless, halter-dress with a low neckline and an even lower back, tight on the torso and loose from the hips down, it reached to mid-calf and a black ribbon in the neckline; along with that I wore black open-toed strappy sandals and, like always, my only pieces of jewelry were my earrings, my pendant and the deamarkonian. Hanging from my shoulder I had a small black leather bag with a long cord, inside it were all my most important possessions, and a little something extra.

Loki knew I had talked to Thor the previous night. Even if he hadn't known, I would have told him; but in the end I didn't need to. My love was awake when I returned to the bedroom, waiting for me. I told him Thor and I had talked, how he acknowledged me as a sister, as Loki's consort. I also shared something Thor had told me at the end:

"_When you and my brother left, the rest wanted to know what had happened afterwards, how Loki ended in the abyss…" Thor said in a low, mournful tone. "They weren't very happy when I told them what happened. In fact, the Man of Iron was downright furious…at our Father…" _

Loki hadn't been able to believe it, even that morning I wasn't sure he did. As far as he was concerned, it was alright for me to believe that he was good, to be angry at Odin for what he'd said and done… but he just couldn't understand others being able to think the same way without having seen his memories, felt his feelings… I, on the other hand, believed it to be possible, and it made me very happy to be proven right. If one of the 'heroes' could see the truth, I had hope others would as well.

No one said a word as we all came together in the common floor of the tower. Not even when Thor came forward to place chains on my husband's wrists and ankles, and a muzzle over his mouth. I could see several people bristling, particularly Stark, who seemed like he would begin yelling insults left and right any moment; and surprisingly enough, Rogers, who just shook his head in obvious disagreement.

*So… the monster is now in chains…* I heard Loki murmur flippantly inside our bond.

"Don't you dare say that Loki." I hissed out-loud at him. "It's not funny."

"Say what?" Several of those present asked.

"I didn't hear a word…" Phil commented.

"For the umpteenth time… We're bonded, connected." I tried to explain, though the whole situation we were in was making me stressed out and snappy. "That means we can talk into each other's minds… and no, I don't mean like 'reading each other's minds'… not unless we want that. It can only be done willingly."

Everyone nodded, obviously grateful that their own minds weren't… at risk. So to speak.

"What did he say?" Darcy was interested.

"He made a joke about being chained." I answered vaguely, shaking my head. "I didn't like it. I don't like seeing him like this…"

"You know that if there was any other way I wouldn't do this, sister-mine." Thor assured me. "It pains me almost as much as you, to see my brother like this."

"I know Thor." I nodded quietly.

Several brows raised at the way Thor was addressing me, though no comment was made.

We split up in a number of cars, and a van. There was a walking-bridge near Central Park, it was the place that had been chosen for the departure.

As soon as we arrived Dr. Banner and Stark worked together on getting the Tesseract inside the glass container they had created expressly for that moment. It would protect the cube while at the same time allowing the Asgardians to access a fragment of its power and use it to get to Asgard. Thor was 'guarding' Loki, and I refused to let go of him. The rest just stood in a loose circle around us. As if they were some kind of honor guard…

Loki laughed mentally at my comment, which I had purposefully sent his way. I would rather he laugh than be all morose… I was already tense enough for the both of us.

Finally, all arrangements were made. Banner and Stark joined the others in the loose circle, as Thor and Loki held the Tesseract between them; however, when I should have stepped back, to where Darcy and Jane were waiting for me, I refused to move.

"Do you trust me?" I asked Loki out-loud.

His brow furrowed a bit, in obvious confusion at what might be going inside my mind (I wasn't showing him), but still, he nodded with no hesitation.

"I'm going with you." I finally told him.

Loki's eyes widened, almost too much, as he turned to look at Thor, trying to convey with his eyes how insane he thought it all was. All three of us ignored the gasps, eeps and loud whispers coming from all around us.

"You have a right to have someone stand up for you during your trial, brother." Thor answered Loki's unvoiced question. "And who better than your wife? Yes, I know there are rules. Even with what you might usually think of me, I'm not as reckless anymore… we have a plan. Lady Nightingale will be alright… I promise you."

I could see Loki still didn't like it, but I think a part of him wanted too much for me to be there with him, so he didn't put up much of a fight; simply nodding in the end. I was also sure that if the situation became dangerous for me at any point he would throw caution to the wind, break the chains 'binding' him and find a way to get us all out, even if he had to fight all of Asgard in the process… I really, truly hoped that wouldn't be necessary…

It was the sickest feeling I'd ever gotten. I would describe it like some kind of force breaking my body into pieces, the most basic cells, turning those into some kind of energy… then, for a time that felt entirely too long, I had no sense of self at all, like I didn't exist… until suddenly I was real and whole again, but it was like my mind and body were taking a few very long, very precious seconds to catch up.

When I finally had something solid beneath my feet again (I actually had feet again! A body!) I had trouble actually standing and couldn't help but drop to my knees.

*Nightingale!* I heard Loki call urgently into our bond.

"Sister!" Thor called at the same time.

Instantly they were each at one side.

"I am alright." I answered both of them at once. "I just wasn't prepared for how that felt like… it was nothing like Shadow Walking…" I shook my head slightly, taking deep breaths to clear my head. "I'm alright now. I promise."

I held onto Loki's arm as they both helped me to my feet.

"What is the meaning of this, Prince Thor?" A hard voice asked behind us.

I could sense the two brothers turning around to address Heimdall, though I didn't. I just stood there in silence and waited.

"Heimdall." I heard Thor say calmly and strongly. "Midgard is safe, and the Tesseract has been returned to our possession. I have also brought my brother, Loki, to answer for his c… actions, regarding both Midgard and Asgard."

"I can see that." Heimdall replied. "That still does not explain the presence of the young woman behind the two of you."

Taking that as my cue I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and turned around slowly.

"This is the Lady Nightingale, she's Loki's wife and, as such, my sister." Thor introduced me.

"She's a mortal." Heimdall said, I imagined after having looked me up and down. "You know mortals aren't allowed to be in Asgard without express invitation of the Allfather."

"Actually, they're not allowed to set eyes on Asgard unless invited by my father… though, as you can see, she isn't seeing anything." Thor pointed out.

I could almost sense Thor's mirth, though I imagined he was keeping it concealed. Loki, on the other hand, need not do such a thing; I could feel how much he was enjoying the word play his own brother was doing, and to help us… he probably would be laughing loudly if it weren't for the damned muzzle on his mouth.

"Clever, my lord." Heimdall conceded after a few seconds. "But what guarantee is there that she won't open her eyes at some point?"

For all answer I slipped a hand inside my bag, bringing out a long piece of black cloth. It was something I would use as a sash, or on my hair sometimes, folded a few time along its length it became dark and thick enough to be assured I wouldn't be able to see through it, even if my eyes happened to open for whatever the reason.

*Interesting plan, my love…* Loki whispered into my mind.

*Whether you will believe it or not, at least a part of it was your brother's idea.* I pointed out.

*Well, I suppose he's not as much of an idiot as I once thought.* Loki shrugged mentally.

Thor took the cloth from my hands, probably to show it to Heimdall, before placing it over my eyes and tying it behind my head. We stood there for a few seconds and I just waited.

*Heimdall is making sure you really cannot see through the cloth.* Loki clarified.

I nodded mentally, having expected something like that.

Soon enough Thor was helping me onto a horse, and I could feel the chains Loki had, brushing against my back as my love held me safely in place.

"We'll ride for a few minutes before reaching the palace." Thor said out-loud, probably more for me than for Loki. "Once there we probably will have to explain your situation more. But don't worry sister-mine, I will get you into the trial."

"I trust you… brother…" I told him quietly.

Getting into the palace wasn't as easy as getting past Heimdall had been (well, I call it easy because it didn't take long, though things might have happened that I didn't notice, since I couldn't see a thing). In the end the order came from Lady Frigg herself to allow me in.

Thor helped me get off the horse, and once he was on his feet as well Loki began guiding me (as Thor, technically guided him, holding the chains connected to the shackles on my love's hands and feet). There was never any hesitation, on any of our parts, not with steps, or changes in the floor, nothing. We just kept walking, I never faltered, never slipped or tripped.

I could guess the moment we reached the room where the trial was supposed to take place. Since not even the slightest light could get past my blindfold I couldn't even guess if it was the Throne Room or the Council Room.

*We're in the Council Room.* My love answered my not-quite-asked question. *Surprisingly enough no one seems to be here except Mother, F…the Allfather, the Council of Elders, Lady Sif, the Warriors Three and Heimdall.*

The last one was the only one that surprised me, as I hadn't noticed that Heimdall had come along when we left the Bifrost. Then again, I'd been more focused on staying straight on the horse; even with Loki holding me tightly, I just didn't want to make things harder.

"What is the meaning of this?" I heard a loud voice I identified through Loki's memories as Odin's. "Who is this girl?"

"With all due respect my lord, I am no child." I couldn't help but be offended when people saw me as less because of my small size. "I was born in Midgard, Silbhé Salani. I'm also Nightingale, Loki's match and consort."

We weren't hiding anything, or holding anything back, not this time. The deamarkonian and the claddagh tattoo were visible to all.

I could hear the murmurs going all around, some more discreet than others. They were all talking in ancient Norse, probably as an attempt to keep their talks private, there was no way they could know I understood them perfectly.

*Bunch of ignorant fools…* I heard Loki's snort in my head.

I stayed silent and unmoving for a long while, until I heard something:

"This is an affront to our long standing laws and traditions." I could hear one man saying angrily. "That girl should have never been allowed into our realm. I say erase her mind and send her back to where she came from. Erase any and all knowledge, let her be an example so they don't try sending spies into our midst again…to claim to be bound to a God…"

I could feel Loki's temper rising, high and violently, like the tide in the midst of a storm. I blindly raised a hand, laying it on his arm.

"It's alright, husband-mine." I told him in soft Gaelic, this time I making sure that others wouldn't understand me. "They will not touch me. Thor won't allow it."

*If they do I will destroy them all!* Loki hissed mentally.

From the gasps I heard from at least three people around the room I could imagine I wasn't the only one who'd heard that. It didn't matter, it didn't change a thing.

*Let me handle this…* I insisted, this time in the privacy of our bond. *I promised you I would stand by you, and I will. Let me do this…*

*If this doesn't work, I will still do as I've warned.* Loki stated, very seriously.

*And if it truly becomes necessary… I will still stand by you.* I assured him.

It was crazy, to claim I was ready to stand by him as he murdered others. But then again, I'd known for a while now I wasn't exactly sane; for him I was willing to do quite a number of things I would do for no one else…

With a deep breath I turned to face where I could vaguely sense the presences of the most individuals. I may not be able to see them, but then again I didn't need to. I only needed to talk, and I knew exactly how to force them to listen. If any of them got too violent I trusted Loki and Thor to look after me.

"I do not appreciate being talked about as if I were a disobedient little girl, councilman." I stated in the strongest voice I could muster, in their own ancient language. "Or be talked like I'm not even in the room. It's rude."

I could hear a mix of a snort and a chuckle, mostly mental, though there was still some reaction coming from Thor too. I ignored them both, focusing on what I wanted to express instead.

"I hope you will excuse the fact that I cannot turn to each of you as I speak, but seeing as I'm mortal I'm not exactly allowed to lay eyes in Asgard so…" I shrugged, gesturing at the blindfold covering my eyes. "We are still here, I am still here, for reasons that should be obvious, considering what I've already revealed. And if not, I'll clear it out for you: I am Nightingale, wife of Loki, and I'm here to speak up for him in his trial." I took a deep breath before continuing. "At least some of you seem to be in disbelief regarding my bonds with Loki. Well, they're here, for those who have eyes and truly wish to see them. Loki and I have been a match for almost a year now; even if the laws of my world only had us married eleven days ago. Some of the bonds we share are newer, but others have existed since even before that date."

I felt a swirl of magic move around me; the energy was powerful, but also calm and almost soothing, so I didn't resist, just letting it do as it willed.

"You are, indeed, my youngest son's chosen." I heard a woman, I thought Frigg, say. "I can see the bonds you share… I recognize your union. You have my blessings."

"And mine." Thor added his support almost instantly.

"And mine." Odin echoed the agreement after a few more seconds. "I declare your match as sanctioned, by me and by all of Asgard."

"You are Lady Nightingale, match and consort of Loki." Frigg announced. "And as such entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities imposed on him. This room, and the real eternal recognizes you, Nightingale wife of Loki."

In an instant the blindfold disappeared from around my head as if it had never been there. I blinked a number of times, fighting against the instinct that had me wanting to rub my eyes or something like that. I wasn't about to show weakness of any kind. No way.

"Now, as I was saying before, my name is Silbhé Salani-Hveðrungr, Nightingale, wife and consort of Loki." I stated with all the serenity and authority I could muster. "And I'm here today to speak in favor of my husband."

"Her testimony isn't the only one I have in his favor." Thor added unexpectedly, as he brought out a folder full of papers. "Here I have written and signed testimonies from the team known as the Avengers, my shield-brothers, as well as the Son of Coul and two other members of the Midgardian organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. They all speak in favor of my brother as well."

Loki and I could only turn to look at each other. Wide-eyed, that was one thing we could have never expected, not in a million years.

Odin received the papers first, looking them over briefly before passing them to his wife for her to peruse, and then back to Thor; who handed them then to the Council. With how briefly each of them held them I couldn't help but think that it was useless, that they simply did not care at all about anything positive that could be said about my love. What then was I supposed to do?

"All of this is truly remarkable." Odin stated in a very serious voice. "However, it is also entirely unnecessary. There shall not be a trial. A decision has been made already… by me."

My breath caught in my throat. A decision had been made already?! Without a trial?! Why? When? How? I couldn't stand up for my love if they did not give me the chance! What was I supposed to do now?!

"We watched the events that took place yesterday morning." Frigg announced suddenly.

For a second I had no idea what she was talking about and then, abruptly, it dawned on me. I wasn't sure what feeling was greater inside me in that moment: the self-consciousness, or the relief. Because if they'd truly seen and heard everything… then they already knew the truth.

"We also know already what is in those papers." Frigg went on. "Heimdall kept an eye on the group known as the Avengers, and everyone else who was present during the morning's meeting. He told us what decisions had been made by them, what things had been spoken. Including their own talks about the events that took place in the days prior to the Chitauri attack on Midgard."

So yes, they definitely knew everything.

I didn't notice just how hard I was holding onto Loki's arm, until I felt the coldness of the chains on him as he wound an arm around my back, holding me up as my legs threatened to give out on me. I wasn't sure what was greater: my tension and nervousness or my hope, still, they were all making my standing up hard.

For what seemed like forever but couldn't have been more than a handful of seconds at most, there was nothing but silence. Then Odin stood up, slowly he stepped away from his throne, and down the small dais upon which it stood. Every eye on the room followed his progression as he approached my match and I, but not a single word was spoken.

When the Allfather finally reached us, Loki seemed to react instinctively, moving me so I was standing behind him. Odin's approach, and especially Loki's own reaction to it, making adrenaline flow through my veins, allowing me to stand on my own once more and putting my body in full alert. I had no idea what was about to happen, and I didn't know what was greater: if the hope or dread; still, they were both there.

Not a single word was said, as Odin raised his hand. The moment he touched one of the shackles on Loki they all disappeared, as well as the chains, it was as if they'd never been there. The same happened when he touched the end of the muzzle.

"A…Allfather…" Loki's voice sounded a bit hesitant as well as hoarse, as he bowed his head slowly in respect, never really taking his eyes off the god.

"Loki…" Odin began.

Then, what we perhaps expected the least… well, I'm quite sure it wasn't even in my scope of possibilities. Odin bowed to Loki! And then, as we all still stood there, eyes and mouths wide in absolute disbelief; Odin straightened up again and enveloped Loki in a tight hug.

"My son…" He added in a quiet, sorrowful, yet still strong voice. "I am sorry…"

Suddenly I was crying, silent tears making their way down my cheeks. I didn't even consider stopping them. That moment… it made everything that had happened, and even worse things that could have happened and thankfully did not… made it all worth it.

I paid no attention at all to my surroundings until I suddenly had Odin in front of me.

"My daughter…" Odin spoke as he embraced me, kissing my brow. "Thank you."

Yes, definitely made it all worth it.

* * *

This is it! Done! Finished! At least this particular AU. Like I warned before, I didn't fully rewrite Nightingale. On one hand, because after this a lot would have happened very much like in the original version; in the other because my intention when I began this was all along to write just a few alternate scenes. Originally the whole thing was going to be a One-Shot, until it proved to be too long for that.

I will probably take a week or two off posting (at least concerning Nightingale), then I shall be back with the next AU. I have a total of 3 finished right now, and am doing my best to convince my muse to let me finish the fourth. I am also trying to work out the actual sequels to Nightingale. Thus far I need to find the Hulk movie that actually fits Avengers (the one with Liv Tyler, I think); then I must watch it, and then I must think of some way to write Steve Rogers, Bruce and Tony for each of their sequels (don't know yet which one will be worse!).

Hope more people will review. Tell me what you think about this AUs please! And my current ideas for the sequels!

See ya around!


End file.
